A Foreigner in the Pokemon World
by Ravinae
Summary: The pokemon ranger Benji just thought he was saving a girl from a Mightyena attack. Little does he know that she is not from his world, but from our own! Now follow her adventures across Sinnoh with her ever present comapnion, Kani the Huskie and her new pokemon friends as they attempt to save the world.
1. The Ranger and the Foreigner

"All right professor, I'm on my way back now. I'll make sure to give you my full report once I get back. For now let's just say those Bronzong and Graveler packs won't be causing any more trouble for the hikers in the area. Benji, out."

The ranger and his Weavile continued on their route around Lake Verity and beyond that Twinleaf Town where the Ranger Base was located. On their way, they decided to stop by the lake for a well-deserved rest.

"Race you Weavile!" Benji shouted as he ran off.

"Vile!" In the middle of their race, a scream suddenly splits the air.

"What was that?! We'd better check it out, Weavile!"

"Weavile!" As they emerged from the forest, it was easy to see where the scream had come from. In the field by the lake a Mightyena and a pokémon Benji had never seen before were fighting. Both creatures were going at it tooth and nail. Benji noticed how the unknown creature kept returning to the same spot over and over. It was then he saw the source of the scream. A girl was collapsed behind the strange pokémon. It appeared to be protecting her.

"Weavile, we've got to help!"

"Wea!"

"I'll capture the Mightyena; you go make sure the girl is okay."As Weavile raced across the field, Benji got out his capture styler and pointed it at the Mightyena.

"Capture, on!" The disc shot across the clearing, trailing a tail of bright light. It quickly surrounded the pokémon and Benji proceeded to capture it. Benji calmed it down sent the Mightyena on its way.  
"Capture complete. Hey Weavile, you doin' okay?" Benji shouted.

As he turned around he saw this was not the case. The creature guarding the girl wouldn't step away and was snapping at Weavile any time he got close.

"We've got to get it away from her so we can see what's wrong. Stand back, Weavile, I'm going to capture it! Capture on!" The disc once again shot out of the styler and surrounded the creature. Yet, this time it wasn't working.

"I can't capture it!" Benji shouted in frustration, "Weavile, we need to think of something!"

"We-Weavile," Weavile said as he was pointing behind Benji. Benji turned around and saw a few Budew emerge from the bushes.

"That's perfect Weavile! Great idea! Capture on!" Benji proceeded to capture a Budew. "Budew, I need you to use Sleep Powder. Weavile, stand back buddy."

The small pokémon let out a big cloud of the spores to envelop the strange pokémon. Benji released the Budew. As the cloud dissipated, he saw that the creature wouldn't go down. He saw it start to weaken, so he approached.

"It's okay, we're here to help," he said as he stretched out his hand kindly. The pokémon still snapped at it, but there was no force behind it, so it didn't hurt Benji. Now safe to approach the girl, he saw she was of average build and had long, really dark, brown hair. Then he saw the blood on her shirt.

"Oh no. Weavile, grab that pokémon! It probably belongs to this girl," Benji said as he scooped up the girl, "We've got to get back to base A.S.A.P!" They ran as fast as they could to Twinleaf Town. When they arrived at the Ranger Base, Benji ran straight into the medical office and made sure the girl was taken care of. Then he went back to the lobby to place a phone call.

When he got there, the pokémon that they found with the girl had woken up and was going crazy. It looked like it was looking for something, and then dashed into the medical office. Benji ran after it. He burst through the door and saw that it was standing protectively over the girl. Once again it wasn't letting anyone near her.

"Benji, go get Claire," ordered the nurse, "Tell her to bring Mime Jr." Benji went and got Claire and Mime Jr. Once the pokémon was hypnotized to sleep they decided to put it in a cage so they could take care of the girl. Benji finally went and made his phone call.

"Ah! Benji! So good to see you made it back safe. How did your mission go?" asked the professor.

"Great Professor Hastings… Listen, have you ever seen a pokémon like this before?" Benji stepped out of the way so the video phone could show the creature in the cage.

"No, I've never seen one like that before. Wait, what is it doing in a cage?!" yelled the professor.

"Well that's what I called to tell you about. I just wanted to see if you knew what kind of creature it is first." Benji proceeded to tell the professor about his mission and what had happened at Lake Verity and the mishap with the strange pokémon in the Ranger Base.


	2. First Encounters

_Ugh, my head! What the heck happened?_ I wake up with a pounding headache and look around. It looks like I'm in a camp cabin, with all the bunks around. It seems I've got the one in the corner. The door across the room opens and a boy about my age walks in.

_He's kinda cute,_ I think. He's tall but not gangly, tanned, with sandy brown hair. His outfit is kind of out-there, though, black shorts with yellow trim, black shirt and red tennishoes with a red and yellow jacket, and –oddly enough-red and blue goggles on top of his head. The kind for skydivers and racers, weird. He looks over and notices me. He walks over and sits near my bed, slowly, like he's not trying to startle me. I notice his eyes; they are a really pretty, deep green. _Funny, I don't think I've ever thought of a guy's eyes as "pretty". _

"Hey I'm Benjamin," he says quietly, "though you can call me Benji, everyone else does."

"Hi," I say back.

"What's your name?"

"Hailey, Hailey Knightingale."

"Well Ms. Knightingale, pleased to meet you!" he says with a stunning smile, "I bet you are wondering what you are doing here."

"Yeah, I do," I say as I try to sit up. All of a sudden my chest starts burning, like I just got way too close to a bonfire.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" he says quickly, "You might want to take it easy. That Mightyena really did a number on you."  
I look down and notice for the first time that my upper torso is covered in bandages. _Huh? Wow they kind of make a shirt, there's so many, _I think in a delirium, _Wait a sec… Oh my God! Where's my shirt?!_ I panic and remember there's a boy right there and yank up the blanket. He notices my panic and grabs a black shirt off a nearby pile.

"Here," he says with a poorly concealed smile, "use this. I'm sure Claire won't mind you borrowing one of her shirts."

"Thanks," I say, kinda panicky and quickly pull on the shirt. "So umm… Where exactly am I?"

"You are at the Ranger Base in Twinleaf Town." He says proudly, like it's some big achievement. "I found you at Lake Verity. I think a Mightyena attacked you and gave you a good gash on your chest. So I rescued you and brought you here! Doc got you fixed up and you've been sleeping here all day." I notice that he's kinda cocky. Just then a woman walks in. She looks like a scientist, with a lab coat and everything. She's got really long, blonde hair and petite glasses that hide blue eyes.

"Well speak of the devil! Hailey this is the Doc! She is the one who fixed you up! Hey Doc!" Benji seems a little too excited when she walks in. _He's got a crush on her! Haha! _I think a little loopily. _Jeez, my brain is out of it today._

"Hello Benji. I see that our friend is finally awake. How are you my dear?" she asks sweetly. She seems kinda like the mothering type.

"Umm good?" I reply, "Not exactly missing any limbs."She laughs quietly and says, "Well, we wouldn't want that! I'm Doctor Emily, if you were wondering."

"Hi Doc. So um… What exactly happened?" I ask since Benji rushed his story.

"Well from what Benji told me you were attacked by a Mightyena and probably got knocked unconscious when you fell down. The Mightyena scratched you across the chest. It's not serious but you will have a few scars."

"Yeah, but scars are cool! They attract the ladies!" Benji interrupts. I level a glare at him.

"You keep saying a 'Mightyena' what's that?" I ask. It seems all I'm doing is asking questions.

"Mightyena is a pokémon from the Hoenn region. It's weird that one was in the Sinnoh region, but stranger things have happened." Benji explains.

"Ummm… What's a pokémon?" I ask feeling really stupid. _They probably think I've knocked my brains out! _

"Hailey, are you sure you're okay," Emily inquires, "Pokémon are all the living creatures that make up this world besides humans and plants. Everybody knows what a Pokémon is." She looks at me worriedly, like I've lost my mind.

"Well I don't know what you're talking about," I say, close to tears.

"Well, Hailey, We'll just have to jog your memory." Benji says as he pulls out a strange red and white ball the size of an apple. "Weavile, come on out buddy!" He throws the ball into the air and it bursts open in a flash of light. All of a sudden a strange creature stands there. It kind of looks like a cat, with a red crown and collar, but it stands on two legs instead of four. I just stare at it in confusion.

"This is my Partner Pokémon, Weavile. Weavile, say hello to Hailey." Benji instructs.

"Weavile" it says with a smile. At this point I am totally weirded out, and scoot back across the bed. Ben seems to notice my distress and calmly says, "No it's okay! Weavile is friendly!"Emily seems to notice my fear as well and says, "Hailey? You aren't from around here, are you?"

"No," I squeak out, "and I'm kinda freaking out right now."

"Benji, why don't you put Weavile away and we'll see what the problem is." Emily instructs, still calm as can be.

"Umm, okay," Benji responds, "Weavile, return." And with that the creature is sucked back into the little ball in a red light.


	3. Don't Forget!

"So let me get this straight," I say, "This world is inhabited by creatures that are both living things and sentient machines and objects? And not only that, but these creatures have amazing powers and can produce lightning bolts or ice shards or water streams or God knows what, out of thin air! And the people of this world keep them as pets or workers or collect them to battle each other, in little red and white balls! People even use them for crime! Is that it?!" By the end of my little rant I've gone up an octave.

"Pretty much, yeah," Benji says, "but what I and the people here at this base is different. We use these Capture Stylers to get aid from wild pokémon to help protect people and nature then release them back into the wild. We don't keep them, except for our Partner Pokémon. They stay with us."

"Oh man. What have I gotten myself into?" I say, mostly to myself.

"So Hailey, how did you end up at the lake?" Emily quietly asks, "Since you obviously came from somewhere, if not from around here."

"Well, from what I remember before the attack, I was taking a shortcut home through the woods. I didn't want to take the bus that day so I decided to enjoy the fresh air, ya know? Well in the middle of my shortcut I came across a large pond. Just sitting there in the clearing, right next to the pond, was a huge creature! It was massive and was mostly white with-oddly enough-pink lines all over it. And it had a pink jewel on its shoulder and it was cracked. But it was just so massive and intimidating that I couldn't do anything but stand there, it was like I was frozen. I don't know how long I stood there but the creature never moved. All of a sudden, a loud roar came from somewhere else in the woods. The creature I was watching got really panicked and startled. It quickly got up and then there was this flash of bright, pink light. But before the light obscured everything, I saw a giant blue figure out of the corner of my eye. When the light dissipated I was standing at the lake with Kani… Oh my god! Kani! Where is she?!"

Just then a howl came from outside the room. I jumped to my feet and raced out the door. I followed Kani's howls down the hall to a room filled with computers and a few scientisty-looking people. She was in a cage and fighting to get out. I ran over to her and opened the cage.

"It's okay Kani, I'm here." I whispered to soothe her. She was shaking but was determined to sniff me from head to toe to see if I was okay. Once she deemed me healthy she proceeded to give me a big and sloppy kiss. "Hahaha! I love you too, Kani!"

Just then Benji and Emily ran into the room. Kani immediately turned to face them and growled menacingly. Benji tried to approach but Kani snapped at his hand. Before she can snap again I say, "Kani no! Ystӓvӓ! Ystӓvӓ!" instantly she calms down and starts to wag her tail.

"That's one heck of a guard you've got there." Benji remarks while rubbing his nearly injured hand, "What does 'Ystӓvӓ' mean?"

"Ystӓvӓ is Finnish for friend. That's the language I use for her commands so she doesn't hear them all the time," I explain, "Besides you put her in a cage, she has the right to be a little snappy around strangers!" that last part came out a little angrier than I was hoping it would.

"Sorry, it was all we could think of." Benji says.

"We couldn't get near enough to patch you up with her standing guard and we needed to keep her from doing any damage to other people," Emily adds.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," I apologize, "It's just I got Kani from a questionable animal shelter and she's scared of cages."

"I understand," Emily says with a small smile, "many pokémon around here hate being confined as well." I smile back at her.

"Well since everyone seems to have had enough excitement for one day," Emily says while looking at all the professors around the room, "I think we should continue our conversation in the medical office. At least there we might have some privacy."

"I agree. A little privacy is what we all need." Benji says with an arrogant smile on his face, his crush making itself obvious again.

"Oh jeez," I say, "Keep it in your shorts Benji."

"What?"

"Never mind," I sigh as we head towards the medical office.


	4. Decisions, Decisions

Once Emily shut the door Benji plopped down next to me on the couch next to the desk. Kani curled up by me feet. Emily sat in the chair behind the desk.

"So, Hailey, I am really curious. What kinds of creatures populate your world?" Benji practically tripped over himself trying to get the words out. I thought a while on how to describe all the animals on earth.

"Well, Benji, we have many different species of animals. We have ones that live on land and in the seas and even live in places where humans would never be able to live because of extreme conditions. But the most noticeable difference between animals and pokémon is that animals are not as powerful as pokémon. Most species use their claws and teeth to fight. Many species produce a poison to protect themselves and to help obtain food. But no species that I know of is able to do the incredible things that you've told me pokémon are capable of, like producing lightning bolts or freezing gusts of wind."

"Wow. So every animal has to depend on their wits and strength all the time?" Benji inquired.

"Well, yeah. I've seen fish able to produce electricity, but not to the point that you've told me. Mostly it's a defense mechanism, not an attack." I explain.

"So what is Kani, and what's an animal shelter?" Emily asks, her eyes glittering curiously.

"She's a dog, what many people call 'Man's best friend.' From what I've gathered on the Internet, Kani is an Alaskan Huskie. I'm not exactly sure because she could be any number of combinations of dog species, but she looks mostly like a huskie. An animal shelter is a citizen and slightly government funded place where abandoned, abused and stray animals are given care and usually a good home. Many people who want to do good get their pets at an animal shelter. That's where I got Kani. She was one of the unfortunate whose last owner abused her. She perked up when I stopped by her cage and the worker there said she never did that, so I chose Kani."

"Well you chose well! She was protecting you pretty fiercely out by the lake." Benji remarks.

"Yeah I know. She's been very protective ever since I met her." I say giving Kani a good head scratch.

"Hailey, I've been thinking about what you've told me in your story of how you got here and I have an idea of what happened," says Emily, "I think that massive creature you saw in the woods was Palkia. Palkia is the pokémon said to control all of space. And that blue figure was probably Dialga, the pokémon said to control all of time. I think you encountered Palkia trying to heal itself in the woods. You see, Dialga and Palkia are constantly at war, for whatever reason, we don't know. Palkia must have gone to your world to catch a break and rest. Dialga must have followed it there and that's probably what startled Palkia. That bright light you saw was Palkia coming back to this world. You must have been just close enough to get caught up in the teleportation. At least that's my theory."

"There are pokémon capable of controlling time and space?! This world gets weirder and weirder the longer I stay here," I say with a sigh, "So what—"I am cut off as an older man comes in through the door. He has the look of most of the people I've seen here, intellectual. He has graying hair and kind brown eyes, though his eyebrows and mustache are a little weird, mostly because they're too big for his face.

"Ah, Professor Hastings!" Benji says as he stands up to greet the man, "I didn't know you'd get here so fast."

"Well of course I hurried! With the report you gave me, I just couldn't wait, now could I?" the professor practically yells, "Now where is the creature you've told me about?" He looked my way and saw Kani lying at my feet. It was then he seemed to notice me. He stared at me like one might study an unknown creature. "Ah! I see you are alright my dear," he says kindly, "With what I heard from young Benjamin, you'd been in pretty bad shape when he found you. Good to know you've recovered so fast."

"Professor," Emily interrupts, "I think you might want to take a seat. We have been discussing many things that you probably have questions for. Why don't you sit down so I can explain?"

"Well alright," he looks a little put out at the thought of not being able to question me, "I guess I can refrain from asking questions until you explain. Just a couple questions first! My dear, how old are you?" I start at being put on the spot so quickly, I answer, "I'm fifteen."

"Ah I see! The same age as Benjamin here. Excuse my manners, what is your name?"

"Hailey Knightingale."

"Pleased to meet you Ms. Knightingale," he says with a small smile, "One last question, what is that creature at your feet? Is it a companion or a pet?"

"Professor that will be explained in due time, but Kani is both a pet and a companion for Hailey," Emily says a little exasperated. The professor must be one of those infuriating, always curious types. I think, amused. Emily proceeds to tell the Professor all of what I've told them and the circumstances of my presence. He sits next to me, enraptured the whole time.

"Remarkable!" the professor says in awe, "To think that we have a person from another world here in our presence! Simply amazing!" _He looks like he's gonna burst in happiness or something, _I think to myself.

"So now that you are caught up in the situation," Emily says exasperated from telling the long story, "I believe Hailey was asking a question before you barged in."

"What?" I try to remember my question, "Oh yeah! So what do I do now? I mean I can't just stay here and be useless and stretch your hospitality. And I don't think I will be able to go home anytime soon."

"Well, you could become a pokémon ranger like me!" Benji quickly answers, "Just think about it! You could save people and become famous! You'd be learning from the best, me!" I think about it. Saving people, and pokémon, always at the beck and call of whoever is in trouble. _I don't know. It just doesn't seem me, to always be running around protecting people and nature. _

"Or you could travel the Sinnoh region as a pokémon trainer," Professor Hastings adds, "You could see the world and even go on to other regions." _Hmm, see the world, at my own pace. Make new friends and meet people from all over. That sounds perfect! _

"I think I will become a trainer!" I say after deliberating the two options, "To see the world at my own pace and make new friends." Benji looks a little heartbroken but he quickly perks up.

"While you're traveling then, maybe I can go with you for a while," He says with enthusiasm, "As long as I'm not needed here." Emily seems to think about it but I can already see the answer in her eyes.

"Sure Benji, as long as we don't have many missions, you can accompany Hailey," She says, "But when we call you we expect you to respond right away!"

"Yes Sir, Ma'am!" He says with an arrogant grin.

"Well then children, you'll start your journey tomorrow! Now who wants dinner, because I'm starving!" Professor Hastings says with a wide grin. After dinner Benji and I head back to the bunk house.

"So I bet you can't wait to go on your journey tomorrow, huh?" Benji asks quietly.

"To tell you the truth, I'm kinda scared." I admit, "I've never been truly on my own before. I've always had friends or family to take care of me. It's weird thinking that I'm becoming independent in a different world."

"I guess I kind of get that. I set off on my own to become a pokémon ranger when I was eleven. It's hard to get used to doing everything for yourself." _Benji is so nice. I wish things were normal. I might have tried dating him back home._

"But it seems you were well prepared when you ran into Palkia." _Wait, what? _

"What do you mean well prepared?" I say icily. I see him blush at his mistake. "Did you go through my bag?!"

"A little," he admits, "but I was only trying to see if you had a pokéball for Kani. You know, back when I thought she was a pokémon." His face is bright red as he stammers out his excuse.

"Dude, not cool!" I yell, "The least you could have done was wait for me to wake up! Men! They're all so impatient!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it would upset you this much!" He looks sincerely sorry, "I am very sorry that I went through your bag."

"Fine, I forgive you," I say, "Just be glad it wasn't any other girl's bag. You would have never heard the end of it."

"That reminds me! Claire should be back from her mission tomorrow morning! She can come with us to Sandgem town.  
You will like her, I know it." Benji seems so confidant in his assumption that I find myself hoping I do like Claire.

"Well we will see," I say with a yawn, "But right now I could use a good night of sleep. I'm exhausted!" Benji laughs.

"Well with the days you've had so far, I'm not surprised. But before you hit the sack I want to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"When you start your journey, you will receive a pokémon from Professor Rowan. In the Sinnoh region trainers get to choose from a fire type, a water type, and a grass type. You remember how all the different types line up right?" I nod, "Good. So you should probably think about which pokémon you'll want to start with before you go to sleep. You will also receive a pokédex and some pokéballs to start off your journey. I'll teach you how to use those when you get them."

Benji smiles then heads over to his bunk. All I'm really thinking about is how good this bed feels. Kani jumps up on top of the bed and settles by my legs before I fall asleep.


	5. Still More Choices

"BENJI!" I yell as I sputter awake, "I'm gonna get you for this!" Benji backs away laughing so hard he's crying. An empty bucket dangles from his left hand. It's empty because he's just dumped all the water on me!

"Well look at it this way," he says still laughing, "You won't have to take a shower now!" I smile wickedly at him.

"Kani, torjumiseksi!" I point at Benji. Kani jumps off the bed and lunges after Benji, tail wagging. Benji yells and runs out the door, with both Kani and me at his heels. The people in the base stare at us as we run past. We run past Emily and I hear her say, "Not again." Benji makes it all the way to the main lobby before Kani catches up and takes him down. The little rat is still laughing!

"I see Benji has found someone new to pick on." I look over my shoulder to find the voice. A girl a couple years older than me stands in the doorway. She's tall and has short blonde hair. She's that kind of person I wish I could be, pretty and graceful, I feel a small pang of jealousy.

"Hey Kani, can I get up?" Benji asks with a chuckle.

"I think you've learned your lesson," I say also laughing, "Kani, vapauta" Kani looks a little sad at having to release her prey, but she backs off. Benji jumps up and walks over to the girl.

"Claire, I'd like you to meet Hailey! Hailey, this is Claire."

"Nice to meet you," I extend my hand for a handshake.

"Likewise. It's nice to finally meet the girl the whole base is talking about," she says with a small grin, "So from what I hear from Doc Emily, you aren't exactly native to these parts, eh?"

"Jeez, does everyone know about me? I thought it was like some secret or something." Claire is a very likeable person. She seems naturally charismatic.

"Well Emily told me since it seems I get to escort you to Sandgem with Benji. By the way, I see you are the newest victim in his pranks." I realize I'm still sopping wet and blush creeps up my cheeks.

"Yeah, I guess so," I laugh, "At least he didn't push me off the bed into a ton of shaving cream like my brothers did on my last birthday. It took forever to get it out of my hair!" She laughs along with me at the memory.

"No he did that to me three years ago, but at least it was whipped cream and edible!" We both laugh even harder. _Wow, Benji is quite the prankster! Now I just have to figure out how to get him back! _

"Well I am going to go dry off and get dressed. Nice to meet you," I head back towards to bunk house.

I grab clothes that Benji says I can have. A black shirt, black shorts with red trim, my own red sneakers and a red and blue jacket. After I get dressed and grab my stuff, I head over to the medical office to find Emily. I walk in the door and see Benji and Claire are already there.

"Ah, Hailey, glad to see you're ready," Emily smiles as I shut the door, "Before you leave I want to make sure you are well prepared. You already have a change of clothes but we want to give you these." She points to a few objects on her desk. There are a couple of electronics and a small pile of what I assume is the money for this world. "This is a map of the Sinnoh region, and this is a Pokégear, it will allow you to call us and for us to call you. And we can't send you out into the world without some money."

I feel myself start to blush, I've never been good at taking gifts, "Oh no! You've already done so much for me!" I say, getting flustered, "I couldn't possibly take any more from you!" Emily shakes her head, "Now what kind of rangers would we be if we sent you on your own without proper tools to survive? Take them; we have these in stock for any trainers that lose their way." I take the gifts and stuff them into my bag.

"Thank you so much!" I say with tears in my eyes, "Now how about we start my journey?"

"Let's go," Benji springs up with a yell, "I can't wait to see who you pick as your first pokémon!" Claire and I laugh at his enthusiasm. She says, "All right, crew, let's head out!" and with that we head out of the ranger base. Walking through Twinleaf I see that it is a very laid back town. We reach the start of Route 201 and we look back on the town. "Well it all starts here," I say, "From now on I am part of this world whether I like it or not."

"Don't worry," Benji says, "You'll have a blast on your journey!"

"Well let's get over to Sandgem town."

"We should get there by mid-day," Claire speculates, "At least as long as Benji doesn't drag his feet!" She levels a look a t Benji and I giggle.

"Hey!" he interjects, "I never lag behind!"

"Except when there are chores to be done!" Benji blushes, which makes me laugh even harder.

I look around at the scenery, it is very beautiful. The trees are bright green and pokémon run through the trees and the grass. I mostly see two types; a beaver like pokémon that Benji tells me is a Bidoof, and a small bird that Claire says is a Starly. It is nice getting to know all of the different species that populate the area.

The walk to Sandgem is very relaxing and calm, until the Starly decide to attack, that is. A flock just decides to go nuts and attack everything in sight, unfortunately that's us. Benji and Claire jump into action, using their capture stylers to capture the members of the flock, sometimes more than one at a time. Kani keeps any stray Starly from coming after me by chasing them away. I see she is having the time of her life, jumping at the birds and barking, the thought makes me smile as I duck from a dive attack from a Starly. Soon the Starly are all calmed down, turns out we walked into their territory during mating season, not a good idea.

"Well that was unexpected," Benji says, out of breath, "At least no one got hurt."

"Speak for yourself," I say with a laugh, "Kani took out my legs going after one of those stupid birds."

After a short break we continue on to Sandgem and arrive at noon, just like Claire said. She and Benji show me the Pokémon Center and the Pokémart and explain their uses. Next they take me over to Professor Rowan's lab, where a young man is standing outside the door.

"Hey! Lucas!" Benji shouts as he jogs towards the boy, "How's it going?"

"Hey Benji!" the boy shouts back, "It's going good, just waiting for a new trainer to show up so I can introduce her to Professor Rowan."

"Well wait no more, because here she is!" Benji says with a grin. As Claire and I catch up to Benji, I get a good look at the boy. He seems to be younger than me with black hair covered by a red hat. His grey-blue eyes show maturity, though. His blue jacket seems a little too short, like he's had it for a while and hasn't wanted to throw it away.

"Hi, I'm Hailey," I introduce myself.

"Well hello Hailey. Hello Claire," he says with a small grin, "How's the Ranger business nowadays?"

"Just as busy as ever. It's great to see you Luke!" Claire says, "Hailey- Lucas, Benji and I used to be great friends when we were kids, along with Barry and Dawn, but they decided to become trainers."

"Yeah I could never handle all the rush with being a ranger." Lucas admits, "Too much for me."

"So I see you're helping out Professor Rowan now, huh?" Benji states, "Good for you!"

"Thanks!"

"Hey Luke, one thing, Hailey here is new to pokémon, so take it easy with her, kay?"

"Funny that's the same thing Emily said when she called the professor," He glances at me, "Huh. Oh well! Let's go inside and say hello to Rowan." We follow Lucas inside the lab and I've got to say, I'm stunned. All the computers decorating the walls and the assistants running around make me wonder how Lucas can say this is laid back. It seems everywhere you look; someone is experimenting or running results to someone else or just plain rushing.

"Sorry about the mess," Lucas says, "It's not usually this chaotic, but ever since the professor started studying the legendary pokémon, well things have gotten a little crazy with the research."

"Naw it's fine," Benji says, "This is like the Ranger Base on a normal day." At the back of the lab is a tall, older man. The way he holds himself and how he instructs those around him gives off the impression that he's seen it all. He's a lot like Professor Hastings, greying hair, and air of professionalism. Unlike Hastings though, his grey eyes are very serious yet kind. He's very intimidating, all-in-all.

"Ah, Lucas! Glad to see you and your friends again!" the professor says with a deep voice, "And this must be the new young trainer Doctor Emily called about. Pleased to meet you my dear." What is with the adults in this world? He's the third person to call me 'my dear', I think to myself, It must be a common thing to do to younger people or something.

"Hello," I say in return, "Pleased to meet you as well." As much as I'd like to deny it, this serious man intimidates me. He just seems so in control and powerful here in his lab.

"Lucas, why don't you take your friends and show them the research on the lake pokémon. Ms. Knightingale needs to make this choice on her own."

"All right professor," Lucas says and guides Benji and Claire out the door. I throw a look back at Benji that says something along the line of, "HELP ME!" He just smiles and gives me a thumbs-up before walking out the door dragging Kani along with him. I look back at the professor, who seems much scarier now that I'm alone. I resist the urge to whimper.

"Well Ms. Knightingale, if you would follow me, I will show you the pokémon." I follow him to the other side of the room where three pokéballs sit on a table. Rowan picks up the one with a leaf symbol on it.

"First we have a female grass type, Turtwig." He throws to ball in the air and it pops open with a burst of light. The pokémon standing there is a small brown and green turtle, with a twig on its head. Well I guess it's easy to see where it got its name. It glances up at me and smiles before promptly laying down and falling asleep.

"Next there is the male water type, Piplup." He grabs the pokéball with the teardrop symbol on it and opens that one as well. The pokémon from that one is a small, blue penguin. It looks at me then puffs up its chest in pride, saying a confident "Pip!"

"And last but not least we have the male fire type, Chimchar." He takes the pokéball with the flame symbol on it and throws it in the air and it opens like the last two. This pokémon is a small reddish-orange monkey with fire for a tail. Wait a second here, it's butt is on fire! And this is normal? I think in my head, Seriously, this world just gets stranger and stranger. The small monkey looks at me, smiles widely and says, "Chimchar!" He's very energetic.

"Take your time, this is a very big choice for every trainer," Professor Rowan says. I look them over once more. Turtwig is snoozing away, Piplup is looking prideful, and Chimchar is hopping from foot to foot. I think of how my journey would be with each of them.

"I think I know which one. I choose Chimchar." I say with a smile. Chimchar looks delighted, Piplup looks a little crushed and Turtwig is still asleep.

"Great choice. I want to warn you though, Chimchar is a little stubborn and hates being confined, it's amazing we even got it in its pokéball before you arrived. It may cause trouble for you along the way." Professor Rowan explains.

"That's okay, I wasn't thinking about keeping it in its pokéball anyway."

"Would you like to give him a name?" The professor asks.

"Hmmm," I say as I ponder the options, "Chimchar, how about Prymas?" He looks happy with that. "Okay, Prymas it is! Let's go show you off to Benji and Claire."

Prymas jumps up onto my shoulder and gives a happy shout of, "Chim-chimchar!"

"Now hold on a second!" The professor says quickly, "You'll need Prymas' pokéball just in case and these five empty pokéballs for catching new pokémon. And we can't forget your pokédex. It will give you information on every pokémon you meet. Just point the camera on the back at the pokémon and the information should come right up." He hands me everything and I put it in my bag. "Now go have a wonderful journey, make new friends and become strong Ms. Knightingale."

"I will professor," I say, oddly moved at his kind words, "Goodbye." With that I walk out the door through the lab and out the building where everyone is waiting. Kani sees me first and lets out a loud bark and runs over. Benji, Claire and Lucas turn around to see me.

"Hey looks like you've picked Chimchar!" Lucas says with a smile, "I picked Piplup as my starter and I was sure you would too." I see him try to hand Benji money discretely.

"Hold on a sec, you were betting on my choice?!" I glare at both Benji and Lucas. Lucas pales and Benji just grins.

"Looks like the cat's out of the bag. Yeah we were, and I was right!" Benji says with an arrogant smile. Oh, how I'd like to punch it off his face! "You're too feisty to go for a Piplup or a Turtwig."

"That just seems wrong," I see Kani sniffing at Prymas, so I grab him and set him at her level, "Kani this is Prymas, he's a friend. Ystӓvӓ. Prymas, this is Kani." She gives him a sniff down and wags her tail. Prymas smiles at her then climbs back up in my shoulder.

"So you named him Prymas?" Claire asks, "That's certainly unique. I like it!" Just then I hear a ringing, it seems to be Benjis styler. He picks it up and looks at a screen I never knew was there.


	6. Hey look! Familiar faces!

**Hey readers, from this chapter on I might be adding new perspectives. These will be indicated by a ~*~*~*~ Normal lines will indicate a change in time, like a night passing or something like that. Enjoy! And remember, I own nothing but my OC's.**

"What do you mean both of us have to go?!" Claire shouts at Benji, "I thought Emily was giving us time off!"

"As long as we weren't needed," Benji replies calmly, "She says that every ranger not on a mission already has to stop the rampaging rock pokémon from hurting people and destroying the caves in Mt. Coronet. Even rangers on missions already have been pulled. This is serious Claire." This is strange, Benji is serious for once, I think as Claire is freaking out, Claire being the one wanting to goof off is even stranger.

"We can't just leave Hailey alone; she doesn't even know how to catch a pokémon yet!" Claire yells for her side of the argument, "We need to stay just a little longer." Benji just shakes his head.

"The only reason Emily let us come was that we'd leave right away if we were called for a mission," Benji says, sounding very logical, which is screwing with my brain even more, "Besides, Lucas can show Hailey the ropes."

"Fine," Claire says, obviously out of ideas so quickly, "Only for this mission, then we find Hailey again and teach her more about pokémon."

"Okay," Benji says with a relieved sigh, "Hailey, we gotta jet. See you later Feraligatr." He gives me a smile and a wink.

"In a while crocodile," I say back quietly. It hurts hearing the slightly altered expression from home. And with that Benji and Claire head off into the forest, towards what I can only guess to be Mt. Coronet.

"Just so you know, it's 'in a while Krookodile'," Lucas says a little awkwardly, "You pronounced it wrong."

"Not where I'm from." Is all I say back.

"So now that you've got a pokémon, you're gonna need supplies," Lucas says, "Did you already stop at the pokémart?"

I shake my head, then we head that way. It's strange using that world's money, the inflation is ridiculous. Basically, as much as I can figure out, $1.00 from earth is worth about $100 here. Lucas instructs me to buy pokémon food, a few extra pokéballs and a few potions, which can be used to heal my pokémon. With all the money Emily gave me I'm left with $200.

Lucas and I leave the store and head for the pokémon center, Kani at my heels and Prymas on my shoulder. He shows me around and introduces me to Nurse Joy. She's a very kind lady with pink hair. After I become acquainted with her Lucas tells me how she's got twin sisters all over Sinnoh, working as Pokémon Center nurses. That just baffles me as I think, How can one couple have so many daughters at the same time?! And not only that, they are all identical! We leave the Pokémon Center after he tells me about the lodging. Turns out it's free to stay there and they even have showers,

"Something you'll become grateful for," he says laughing. It's almost four o'clock when we are done touring.

"I don't think you should start your journey today," Lucas says with a concerned frown, "At least not this late. I want to make sure you make it to Jubilife City before it gets dark and that should take most of tomorrow. How 'bout we head to the beach? I'll teach you how to catch pokémon." I give him a nod and we set off to the south of town.

"Usually you'll find water pokémon on beaches, but occasionally you'll come across flying types." Lucas instructs as we walk down the beach, "I think you should probably catch a water type first, it will be a good offset for your Chimchar. So when we find one I'll show you by capturing the first one then you can try with the next."

We walk for another couple of minutes before a small blue, mouse-like pokémon with a ball for a tail jumps out of the water. I quickly dig out my pokédex and scan it. It says "Marill, the aqua-mouse pokémon. The oil-filled end of its tail floats on water. It keeps Marill from drowning even in a strong current." Wow, this is one nifty device, I think to myself.

"Pay attention Hailey," Lucas yells back at me, "Let's go, Prinplup." He tosses one of his pokéballs in the air and out comes a large, dark and light blue penguin with yellow horns on its head. I scan that one as well. "Prinplup, the Penguin pokémon and the evolved form of Piplup. Because every Prinplup considers itself to be the most important, they can never form a group."

"First you gotta weaken it up, using attacks," Lucas instructs as I watch, enraptured, "Prinplup, use Peck!"

"Prin!" He scores a direct hit. The Marill counters with a Water Gun, which Prinplup narrowly dodges.

"Now you're going to wanna throw a pokéball." With that he grabs one from his bag and throws it directly at the Marill, hitting it on the head. It disappears into the ball in a flash of red light. The ball drops to the ground and starts shaking, but stops after a few shakes.

"And that, is how you catch a pokémon," He says as he walks over to the now still ball, "Next one is yours, any questions?" I shake my head. "Okay let's go farther down the beach to see what we can find. We walk for a few more minutes, then a blue and white, snake-like pokémon jumps out of the water ahead of me. Instantly I'm in action.

"Let's go Prymas!" I say and he jumps off my shoulder onto the sand, "Use leer." He gives the pokémon a great leer, reducing its defense. The pokémon quickly counters by slamming into Prymas, full blast. I can see he's taken a lot of damage but I refuse to give up. "Quick, Prymas, use Scratch and give it all you've got."

"Char!" he yells as he charges forward, landing the blow easily because of his speed. The small pokémon wavers, but stays standing. I grab a pokéball from my bag and throw it at the pokémon, scoring a direct hit. The ball captures it and wobbles on the ground. It stops and stays still. I did it, I think in disbelief, I actually caught it! Yay!

"YAY! Great job Prymas!" I shout in joy, "We did it!" I run over and grab the pokéball and throw it into the air so we can meet our new friend. It pops out and looks up at me.

"Let's just see what you are." I point my pokédex at it. "Dratini, the dragon pokémon. It is called the 'Mirage Pokémon' because so few have seen it. Its shed skin has been found." I look at its stats and see that it's a girl.

"Cool! Not only have I caught my first pokémon, it's also a rare one!" I think for a minute, "I'm going to call you Ryu, do you like it?" Ryu gives a small, but happy coo, not unlike a pigeon, but smoother. Kani and Prymas greet our new friend with glee. I look back at Lucas with pride on my face. He looks disturbed, I ask why.

"Dratini aren't native to the Sinnoh region. There haven't ever been Dratini in the Sinnoh region, ever. This is highly unusual."

"Well the pokédex said very few of them have ever been seen, it could just be that no one has seen one till now." I try to reason. He just shakes his head.

"It's getting late. You can come stay the night at my house. My parents would probably love to meet you and I bet you're missing home-cooked meals already." He says this with a smile. My stomach just growls, loudly. This makes us both laugh. Wow, it's easy to see how both Benji and Claire were his friends, he's so kind and likeable. Shut up stomach! I think as it growls again. Lucas just laughs even more as we head towards his house, and dinner.

* * *

As I walk out of Lucas' home, I take a deep breath of the morning air. Last night was nice, turns out both of Lucas' parents work for Professor Rowan as well. They are very nice and uplifting people. They are very interested in both Kani and Ryu. I try to steer them towards Ryu because I don't know exactly how to explain Kani yet. Turns out his mom is an amazing cook as well. Everything tasted wonderful, and before I go to sleep Lucas tells me more about pokémon battling. He explains all sorts of status conditions and what to do to avoid them. He even goes as far as to give me a few Antidotes and Paralyze Heals. Lucas emerges from the house behind me and shuts the door.

"Well Hailey, this is the first real day of your journey," he says with a nostalgic look on his face, "I can take you to Route 202, but that's it. I've got to help the professor. From then on you'll have to travel on your own, at least until Benji or Claire tracks you down." I give him a sad smile and a nod. We set off through the lazy town with Kani at my heels, Prymas on my shoulder and Ryu in her pokéball. I notice then that both Twinleaf and Sandgem are very laid back towns. _Must be easier to get work done in quiet places, hm. _I think to myself as I look around.

We reach the border of town, I turn back to give one last gaze at the peaceful place. Lucas smiles knowingly with a glimmer in his eyes.

"Give me your pokégear," he says unexpectedly. I oblige. _Gee, with the look on his face I thought he was going to go all Yoda on me and dispense some advice or encouraging remark. _He toys around with it for a minute, and then hands it back to me, I raise an eyebrow in question.

"I've put both mine and Professor Rowan's numbers in there so you can call us for help anytime," He explains, "If you ever need help, any kind, don't be afraid to call and ask." His actions move me. I quickly grab him and give him a hug.

"Thank you Lucas, for everything you've done. You have no idea how much it means to me." I let him go and I see him blush, I've stunned him. He stammers and turns an even brighter red, then says, "You're welcome," and speeds off towards town. I chuckle after he leaves. _Boys, no matter what dimension you're in, they all get flustered by a little bit of emotion and hugging. _

I start my journey down Route 202. I see more of the Bidoof pokémon, like on the day I traveled to Sandgem town. I even see a few Starly and decide to catch one. _A flying type would make a great addition to our team._ First I check out my own pokémon on my pokédex. Prymas knows Leer and Scratch. Ryu knows Leer, Slam, Thunder wave and Wrap. Since both of them are still new I should probably get used to battling with them first, so I seek out small opponents to help me get used to them. We run into a Bidoof first.

"Ready Prymas?" I ask my fiery friend. "Chim!" is all he says as he jumps off my shoulder. Kani lies down under a tree for a short rest.

"All right, Prymas, use Scratch!" He follows my orders. I see that he is a very speedy little fellow and think about how I can use that. The Bidoof comes back with a Tackle and hits Prymas square in the stomach. _Damn! Gotta be quicker! _"Use Scratch once more!" I order. Prymas scores a direct hit and the Bidoof faints.

"YES! You did it Prymas!" My little monkey jumps up and down in the air and lets off a small blast of fire from its mouth.

"Hey, wait. Since when have you been able to do that?" I check my pokédex to see what's wrong, but see something uplifting instead, Prymas learned Ember! "Way to go buddy!" I shout as Prymas once more spits out a small flame. Kani comes over to see what the shouting is about and almost gets singed from Prymas. Next I let out Ryu as we find our next challenger, another Bidoof, but this one looks stronger than the last so I'll have to be careful.

"All right Ryu, let's get things started, use Thunder Wave!" Ryu jumps into action, sending electricity at the Bidoof. It tries to dodge but it isn't fast enough. It stands there helpless.

"Ryu, use Slam!" Ryu responds quickly, slamming into the paralyzed Bidoof, scoring a massive hit. The Bidoof breaks free of its paralysis and Bites Ryu before she can escape. She looks like she's wearing down, but I refuse to loose.

"Ryu, use Leer then go in for another Slam!" My tactics works as the Bidoof is unnerved and drops its defense, just enough for Ryu to knock it out! We win the battle. "Great job Ryu! You did wonderful!" Where Prymas' main strength is his speed and, well, strength. Ryu seems to be an all-over type. Decent speed, great defense, solid attack. I call to Kani and the three of us get going to find a Starly, I don't bother putting Ryu back since she seems happy in the fresh air. Kani starts to growl all of a sudden at the woods to my right.

"I know we're supposed to be after the Twerp's Pikachu, but get a load of that trainer's pokémon." Says a redhead in the Meowth balloon.

"A Chimchar, Dratini and an unknown pokémon." Says the man with blue-purple hair, "You know what that means Jessie?"

"I certainly do, James," Jessie replies, "It's a super rare pokémon! Just think of what kind of power it has. We should steal it for ourselves! It would certainly be easy seeing as it's a new trainer."

"Now hold on yous guys," says a small, cream colored, cat like creature, "Just think about it, if we was to give dat rare pokémon to da boss. He'd say, 'I can't tank Meowth and friends enough for giving me this rare creature. It makes me the center of envy and is a great battler as well.'"

"Then we get riches, rewards and promotions galore!" they say in unison.

"So let's go get it and the rest of her pokémon for good measure!" Jessie says with glee. With that they swoop down and land not far from the unsuspecting trainer.

I turn to see what has Kani on guard and I see a cat shaped balloon land in the clearing.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" A redhead jumps out of the balloon.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear." Next a man jumps out of the balloon, he has strange bluish-purple hair.

"On the wind," she says.

"Past the stars," he follows.

"In your ear," says a cat-like pokémon. _Holy crap. Did that pokémon just talk? As far as I know that's not normal._

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace," the lady says.

"Dashing all hope, putting fear in its place," says the man.

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet."

"When everything's worse, our work is complete."

"Jessie!" _Okay, at least now I know her name. _

"James!" _And now his, I bet that cat is gonna jump in next. _

"Meowth, now dat's a name!" _I knew it. _

"Putting the do-gooders in their place," Jessie says.

"We're Team Rocket," James follows.

"And we're in your face!" they say in unison.

"Waaaboffet!" A large blue pokémon suddenly appears out of nowhere.

"Hand over your pokémon , kid and we won't have to hurt you," says Jessie.

All I can think to say is, "What's Team Rocket?" They all visibly look stunned.

"How can you not know us! We're the biggest group of pokémon thieves and nasty crooks there is!" the man, James, says.

"Sorry, not ringing any bells." I say. I just want to go back on my mission for a Starly again.

"Well that's no excuse!" the chick says, "We'll still take your pokémon!"

"Oh yeah?" I challenge, "You and what army?!"

"This one," Meowth says as he pulls out a remote control, he pushes the big red button in the center. All of a sudden three arms come out of nowhere and snatch up Kani, Prymas and Ryu. I can't believe what I'm seeing.

"And now that we've got your pokémon, we'll take our leave." With that they all jump into the balloon and take off before I can stop them. I can hear their laughter as I run after them.

"You dick-weeds! Come back here with my friends!" I continue to run after them and yell insults the whole way. Their balloon is surprisingly slow and easy to follow. I keep my eyes on the sky to follow them, tripping occasionally over tree roots and rocks. "You bastards! Give them ba—" I get cut off as I run into a boy, younger than me. He's got a black shirt and a red cap and a yellow rabbit-mouse on his shoulder.

"Hey watch it!" he yells as I fall on top of him.

"I'm so sorry but they are getting away!" I say as I help him up.

"Who?" he asks.

"Team Rocket," I say, "They stole my friends!"

"Okay, I'll help" He quickly states, like he's done this before, "Staraptor, come on out!" He throws his own pokéball into the air and a large bird comes out. "I need you to rescue those pokémon from Team Rocket." He instructs as we run after the balloon. "Pikachu, go with and zap the balloon once they're safe."

"StaRAptor!"

"PiKA!" They speed away towards the balloon. I see Staraptor grab Prymas and Ryu, and turns back. It drops them into the boy's and my arms and goes back to the balloon to retrieve Kani. I see it struggle with a fight but it grabs my dog and quickly speeds back, while the Pikachu on its back let's out an electric attack that pops the balloon and sends it flying. As it goes I hear something like "Blasting Off, again" on the wind, but quickly dismiss it as my imagination.

The Staraptor sets Kani down next to me and the boy returns it to its pokéball as I hug each and every one of my friends and see if they are okay. Kani gives me a slobbery kiss, Prymas jumps onto my shoulder and Ryu makes that pigeon sound of hers. I'm so glad to have them back, and I try not to cry in front of the stranger.

"Thank you so much! How can I repay you?" I ask.

"No big deal," he says, "Team Rocket always deserve a beating. By the way, I'm Ash, and this is my buddy Pikachu."

"Pika!" It says for hello.

"Hi, I'm Hailey, this is Prymas, Kani and Ryu." I say as I point to each of them, "Seriously, thank you! I don't know what I would have done without you."

"No problem. So what happened anyway." He asks. I open my mouth to start my story but I'm interrupted by a girl in a white hat.

"Ash! Why'd you run off so fast without us?" she hollers as she approaches. Ash just looks at me then signals me to follow him. _He did help me, I see no reason not to,_ I think to myself ignoring the fact that I was just attacked by strangers, I follow.


	7. Who's That Pokemon

We follow the girl back towards a campsite by the road to Sandgem. At the campsite I get a better look at the young girl. She has long black hair and a very cute black and white shirt with a pink skirt and boots. She looks to be about eleven, maybe twelve, same age as Ash. A Piplup hangs on top of her head like Prymas hangs on my shoulder. Standing by a pot held over a small fire is a teenager not too much older than me. Maybe seventeen? He has spiky brown hair and an orange and brown vest over a green shirt. Whatever he's cooking, it smells delicious.

"So Ash, who's your new friend?" the girl asks.

"I'm Hailey," I respond to her question before Ash can.

"Nice to meet you, Hailey, I'm Dawn," she introduces herself, "and this is my partner, Piplup." The Piplup on her head gives a happy "Piplup!" before walking over and saying hello to Ryu.

"I'm Brock," says the boy with the spiky hair, "in case you were wondering."

"Hi," is all I say. He turns to look at Ash.

"So what happened back there?" he asks, "You just ran with no warning and ditched us."

"Well I saw Team Rockets balloon land over down the path and heard shouting, so I went to investigate," Ash explains,

"Turns out they stole Hailey's pokémon. She ran into me running after them, so I helped in the rescue." He looks at Brock with pride in his chest. Brock just gives me a knowing smile and returns to stirring whatever he's cooking.

"So who exactly is Team Rocket?" I ask Ash.

"They're a bunch of no-good thieves who are always trying to steal other people's pokémon," he explains, "They follow us around a lot. But they are easy to take care of. Just between you and me, they're not very bright." Dawn snickers and laughs at that.

"You can say that again. Every time they try to steal Pikachu, they forget to insulate the trap," she says, "and when they don't, they forget to guard their fragile balloon." This just makes me laugh. Good to know that some people here can be just as stupid as people back home.

"Hey, why don't you stay for lunch?" Brock asks. I start to deny, I don't want to intrude, but he stops me there, "It's okay, we've got plenty." I accept and hang around. Dawn and Ash let out their pokémon for some fresh air and play-time. It's amazing to see all the different kinds that these trainers have caught.

Dawn mostly has small creatures, Piplup, a white and blue squirrel, and a brown rabbit with tufts of fur on its ears. Then she lets out her last one and it's a shock to see compared to the rest of her pokémon, it's a freaking wooly mammoth! My shock aside, I can see that it gets along well with the smaller creatures and is quite lazy.

Ash follows Dawn's example and lets out his pokémon as well. He has a bigger variety than Dawn. He has his Pikachu, Staraptor, a large turtle-like pokémon with what appear to be bushes on its back, a large black and greyish bat, an orange weasel with a yellow collar and a Chimchar like me. They all get along very well and play with each other around the campsite.

Brock's pokémon are helping him set things up. A small, pink, egg-shaped pokémon is carrying bowls, and a tree-like creature is carrying glasses. A blue and black frog is standing by his side and hands him ingredients. I look at my pokémon and extend a hand forward to say, "Go ahead." Prymas races off and plays with the other Chimchar and Ryu goes to play with the rabbit and squirrel. She is very playful when she wants to be. Kani goes to play with Pikachu and she starts to play a game of tag with the small creature and his friends. I sit under the shade of a large tree and enjoy the sight of my friends having a great time. Ash and Dawn sit next to me and watch their friends as well.

In no time Brock says it's ready and we all sit sown for lunch. The pokémon, and Kani, are all enjoying food that Brock made himself. So she likes pokémon food. That will be helpful in the future. The soup that Brock made is absolutely delicious! It's better than what Lucas' mom made and I have no trouble complimenting Brock's skills.

"So Hailey, what kind of pokémon is Kani? I've never seen one like her before," Brock asks me while I'm in the middle of swallowing. He surprises me and I choke a little.

"Yeah I was wondering the same thing," Ash says with a thoughtful look on his face.

"She's not," I say, thinking the only answer I have is the truth, so why not just admit it, "A pokémon, I mean." All three of them just stare at me in confusion. "I'm not from Sinnoh, Kani and I are from very far away," I explain, "We had a run in with a certain legendary pokémon and ended up at Lake Verity where I was then attacked by a Mightyena and saved by a Pokémon Ranger. That's my story. After that I decided to become a pokémon trainer and start my journey with Prymas over there." I see they are still in shock of the whole Kani not being a pokémon thing. "What? That's all I've got to tell you, honestly!"

"Well," Brock says, "This is a first. So then what is she?"

"She's a dog. She's been my friend for a very long time," I reply.

"No wonder no data would come up in my pokédex," Dawn says in revelation, "It's because there is no data on her species, strange."

"So are creatures like Kani common where you come from?" Brock asks.

"No. Kani is unique," I say, Hey it's a half-truth, you don't see many huskies in Iowa, I reason in my head.

"Well alright, best not to question it too much." Dawn says, I think she saw the stress in my face. We pack up and clean dishes. I help gather up all the pokémon and their bowls. By the time we are done it's little after noon.

"So where are you all headed?" I ask.

"We are going to see my mom back in Twinleaf town." Dawn says which makes me remember what Claire said about being friends with a Dawn.

"Hey, you don't happen to know Benji, Claire and Lucas, do you?" I ask her. She looks a little surprised.

"Yeah I do. How do you know them?" she asks.

"Benji is the one who saved me at Lake Verity and I got to know Claire and Lucas in Sandgem town. Lucas helped me out when I first started my journey. If you're going through there you should stop in and say hi. He probably misses you." I say thinking of how his face fell a little when Claire mentioned Dawn, "Say hi for me, would ya? He should be at Professor Rowan's lab." She nods and we head our separate ways, they towards Sandgem and I towards Jubilife City. With Prymas on my shoulder and Kani at my left and Ryu on my right, the day seems a little better knowing I have my friends right beside me.

"Well guys, it looks like we'll have to start over in our search for a Starly." I say with a sigh, "Too bad. Let's get goin in we want to make it to the city before nightfall." And with that we head down the route with purpose. It isn't too long before a young boy interrupts our search.

"Hey, lady! I challenge you to a battle!" he says with enthusiasm. I think of what Lucas told me about trainer battles and how trainers are honor-bound to oblige unless their pokémon are too injured to battle, so I accept. He sends out a Bidoof. I think for a minute. Bidoof aren't naturally fast creatures.

I then turn to Prymas, "You up for this buddy?" I ask him. He jumps off my shoulder and hits the ground ready to fight.

"You get first move," the boy yells to me, "since I challenged you." I don't like this, mostly because I was planning on giving him the first move to see how powerful his Bidoof is. But I guess if he insists.

"Prymas use Leer then follow up with Ember." I order and Prymas quickly goes into action. He gives the opponent a strong leer, draining his defense, then quickly switches to spit out fire at the Bidoof. The young boy tells Bidoof to dodge but is too slow and it hits. He then orders it to use Defense Curl, bringing its defense back up and making my job more difficult. Next he tells it to use Tackle, and I tell Prymas to dodge and he get out of the way in time, thanks to his incredible speed. _Both of them look pretty worn out, I've gotta end this soon. _I think with a scowl. I get the perfect idea.

"Prymas use Scratch!" He quickly goes closer to attack.

"Bidoof, Defense Curl!" _Perfect! _Prymas' scratch bounces harmlessly off the back of the Bidoof. It uncurls as the boy tells it to use Tackle.

"Prymas, Ember!" I yell quickly. Before the Bidoof can launch its attack, it gets a face full of Ember and faints. The boy yells in defeat and walks over to me after returning the Bidoof to its pokéball.

"Way to go Prymas! You did it!" he jumps into my arms and I hug the little pokémon, avoiding his tail. _Don't want to set my sleeve on fire!_

"Thanks for the fun battle," he says. I kneel down to his level and hand him a potion, one of many of my large supply in my bag.

"Here, use this," I tell him, "This should make Bidoof feel better much sooner!" I smile at him and he thanks me, then walks away. I whistle for Kani and Ryu and we continue our search for a Starly.

_Trainers, Humph! All they can think about is battling and getting stronger. They never think about their pokémon. _The strange boy watches our hero battle the young boy from the shadow of the trees. _They never think about the harm they do to their companions. That little boy isn't carrying any potions or status healers in case his Bidoof gets hurt. Strange… who is this creature? _The young man looks down to see a black and white, four-legged creature with a curved tail lying underneath the tree, watching the battle as well. Next to it is a small Dratini.

"Hello," the boy says to the creature, "Who are you?"

"_Well I could ask you the same question, now couldn't I?" _It responds with an air of amusement, "_I am called Kani. Now who are you, strange boy?_"

"I am Andreas," He responds, still baffled. _This creature is the most human-like I've come across, it's so articulate._

"_Nice to meet you, Andreas._" It says and turns back to watching the battle.

"Which of those trainers do you belong to?" The boy asks Kani.

"_I belong to neither of them. I am the friend of the girl. She saved my life one day and I have become her protector. She likes to say she got me at a shelter, but, really, she saved me from an abusive man all by herself. So from then on I swore to protect her as she protected me._" The creature explains, not looking away from the battle. The answer she gave the boy bothers him. _What does she mean by belonging to no one, yet staying with the girl, not leaving her side. Even if she did save her life. Most creatures I know would never think twice about it._

"And what about you, little snake," the boy directs this at the Dratini, "do you belong to the girl, or did she save you as well?"

"_She save Ryu from strange waters. She come along and catch Ryu in small ball. Make Ryu feel safe and happy. Even after Ryu attack her and orange one. Ryu loves the strange girl!"_ _So she caught this one like a normal trainer, but it still feels love towards this girl. Hmmm. _

"Why do you call her strange?" He asks the happy pokémon. It is Kani that answers.

"_Because, Andreas, Hailey and I are not of your world. We come from a place where there are no pokémon. Ryu understands this, as creatures understand when the tides come in or a when a storm will arrive. Both she and Prymas know this to be true. Her spark shines differently than that of people in your world._" Kani looks at him with warmth in her eyes. Then turns back to watch her friend.

_Not of this world! It cannot be!_ He looks back to see the battle is over. He sees the girl praise her Chimchar and hug it. He also sees her kneel in front of the boy and give him a potion. Something an average trainer would not bother to do, assuming the boy can take care of it himself. The young boy thanks her and walks off. _This is one person I' d like to get to know a lot more._ A whistle pierces the air. Kani looks back on the boy once before trotting off after the girl. He melts back into the forest, the girl in the red jacket front and foremost in his mind.


	8. Civilization at last

The sun is starting to set when my small band of misfits and I come across a Starly. _Finally!_ I think with glee, _We've been searching all day for you! _I send out Ryu to battle this time.

"Ryu, use Leer then Wrap!" I order as she targets the Starly. She levels one of her best leers at the bird and it drops its defense, but doges the Wrap attack. _Speedy little bugger. _The Starly Growls at Ryu, dropping her attack, then quickly tackles my pokémon. Ryu is hit hard, but isn't done yet.

"Ryu, Thunder Wave!" She sends out the electricity, and scores a direct hit, paralyzing the small bird.

"Now use Slam!" She hits the Starly hard. I throw a pokéball at it. It captures the Starly and falls to the ground shaking. After a minute it stops and I hear a small click. I've caught a Starly!

"Yes! We did it Ryu! Great job!" My little dragon gives me that pigeon coo she's so fond of and wraps around my ankles. I let out our new friend. Prymas and Kani come over, and I see she wants to chase Starly really bad.

"Kani, you cannot chase our new friend. She is Ystӓvӓ. She is a friend," I say and see her ears droop a little. She gives Starly a sniff and a lick. Ryu and Prymas say hello.

"So, little bird, let's see what the pokédex has to say about you." I open it up and point it at Starly. "Starly, the starling pokémon. Because they are weak individually, they form groups. However, they bicker if the group grows too big." It says she is a girl._ Wow Prymas, you must feel like quite the ladies' man. _I think with a chuckle.

"So, little bird, how would you like the name Stella?" I ask my Starly. She gives off a happy, "Starly!" so I assume it's a yes. I notice the time. _Crap, the sun is almost gone. Looks like we'll probably be camping tonight._ I sigh and start off down the road with Kani and Ryu at my heels, Prymas on my shoulder and Stella flying above. The sun sets before we even come close to the city. I look at the Town Map Emily gave me and see that it is still half a day away. I close it and put it back in my bag.

"Well, guys, looks like we get to camp out tonight," I say, "Let's go find a place to set up." We look around for level ground with no rocks. We find a small clearing in the woods, off the beaten path. _This should work. Enough room for a fire and us. _I set down my bag and go look for firewood. Prymas comes with me and his tail is very helpful in lighting up the dark.

We gather enough wood to last the night and head back. Halfway there we find some berry trees. The berries are small, pink, shaped like little hearts, reminding me of the bleeding heart plant in my mom's garden. I pick a good amount and head back to camp where everyone else is waiting. We arrive at our campsite and get the fire going, with a little help from Prymas. I roll out my sleeping bag and rifle through my bag for the pokémon food I bought just yesterday. _Wow, can it really only be one day? It feels like a week!_ I pull out the large canister and feed everyone. I eat a few of the berries we found. They are really sweet and soft, and oddly filling.

I see that it is really late and decide it's probably a good time to go to sleep. I put Ryu and Stella back in their pokéballs and lay down in my sleeping bag, looking up at the stars. Kani lies by my side and Prymas lies near my shoulder. I can't find any familiar stars, and it really hits me.

The fact that I may never be able to go home. I am in an alternate dimension where the creatures are powerful beings able to do amazing- even magical -things. The people here have bonded with them and become companions and even great friends. I am stuck here, on this world, with no family, no friends besides the creatures I have caught and Kani. For the first time since I arrived here, it occurs to me that I am never going to be able to go home again. Never to see my artistic and slightly crazy mother, never feel the strength of my dad's arms around me in a hug. Never will I see the Big Dipper again, or Orion the Hunter, two of the most constant things in my life. I think about my little brother, Kayden, how I'll never be there on his first day of school or to defend him from the little brats that could make fun of him. About the twins and their endless energy. I feel tears slip down my cheeks, and realize I've been crying. Kani gets up and comes closer to me. She licks my face and whines.

"It's nothing Kani," I say, "Just a little homesickness." She lays right in front of my chest and prods my face until I hug her. She always knows just what to do when I'm sad. I fall asleep hugging her.

That night I have a dream of my first day on this world. The bright light fading away, revealing a crystal clear lake with an island in the middle. Kani just standing there by my side as I freak out. The perspective is wrong though. I'm not looking out of my eyes but out of the eyes of someone watching me from a distance. It's strange because there was no other person there, and it seems as if the perspective holder is floating off the ground. Not too far, but enough to realize it isn't just a tall person. I thought Kani and I were the only people there, weird. I see how the Mightyena was hiding in the bushes, and burst out to attack me. I see Kani put her life in danger to protect me. By this time the perspective holder is hovering over me and watching Kani fight the black and grey pokémon. I see Benji and his Weavile run out of the woods and assess the situation, sending Weavile towards me while he captures the Mightyena. I see Kani snap at Weavile whenever he comes close enough. I look over to see Benji capture a small, green pokémon and it sends a cloud of spores towards Kani. _So that's how he did it. Strange I will have to look that up in the pokédex. _I see Benji grab me and Weavile grab Kani and run to the Ranger Base that is just visible over the treeline.

The perspective rushes towards the island in the middle of the lake where it enters a cave. In the middle of the cavern floats a blue creature with a pink head with a red gem on its forehead and two tails with gems on them as well. It looks to be meditating. It opens its eyes and looks directly at me. A voice fills my head, not the crazy kind but a gentle, female voice.

_Remember, other-worlder, I am watching out for you. Your spark shines brightly, and dark forces may be attracted to it. Times are strange; the Kings of Time and Space fight for what is not theirs to hold. Our world is traveling down a path with only two outcomes. You are here to influence one. It may not come for months or years, but know this; the fate of our world rests in your hands. My brothers and I will help you in a time of great need, you need only call and we will answer. _The dream ends with those eyes of liquid gold staring at me, sending a feeling of peace with them. The rest of my dreams are filled with happy memories from home.

I wake up in the morning feeling rested and energized. What the hell did that creature mean about saving the world? Me? It couldn't be my subconscious; I have never seen a creature like that before. Besides, it felt way too real, the way it watched me and those gold eyes. I shudder at the thought, waking Kani. She whines, still worried from last night. I just give her a smile and get up to start packing.

Prymas wakes up and helps me shovel dirt on top of last night's embers so they don't start anything on fire by accident. I put away my sleeping bag and let out Stella and Ryu. I give everyone some of the berries we found last night for breakfast, and we set off for Jublilfe City. On the way I toy with Ryu's pokéball. Earlier I accidentally figured out how to shrink and unshrink it, gotta say, it scared the crap out of me at first. I thought I broke it! But now that I know that's what it's supposed to do, I realized that's what the small pouches on my belt are for! So I stick the three pokéballs in the pouches and think, I should really get some stickers at the pokémart in Jubilife to stick on their pokéballs. I am having a hard time telling them apart. This morning when I put Ryu and Stella back in their pokéballs, I had them switched around, and it startled me. Everything in this world seems to startle me sooner or later. Lost in my daydreams, I don't notice the boy on the road until I almost run him over.

"Hey, watch it!" he says, pulling me out of my daydream.

I look up at him and say, "Sorry. I was gone with the fairies." I study him. He's got spiked up black hair with two green streaks in it, a hoop earring with a black bead on the end in his right ear, a green sweatshirt with white stripes, blue jeans and a blue backpack. I jump a little when I notice his eyes; they are golden yellow, same as the ones in my dream.

"Gone with the fairies, eh?" he says with a smirk, "I don't think I've heard that one before. I'm Andreas."

"Hello, I'm Hailey," I say back, "That phrase is actually quite common where I come from."

"Oh really and where would that be?"

"Very far away- too far to be exact."

"So how long have you been on your journey?" he asks with polite interest, dropping the subject of my home quickly.

"Just a couple of days," I reply, "It's taking forever to get to Jubilife with all the interruptions I've had." He raises an eyebrow at that.

"Just a couple of days," he says, "and you've already caught four pokémon? You work fast."

Four? What does he mean by fou- ooohh that's right, Kani. I think to myself.

"Actually, only two, not counting Kani and Prymas here. Prymas is my starter and Kani is just a friend." He looks even more confused at that. He shrugs, obviously used to dealing with weirdness.

"You said you're going to Jubilife, right?" I nod, "Do you mind if I come with you? I'm on my way there now to visit my Uncle Carson."

"Sure. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to other than Kani and Prymas." We set off down the road but it's not too long before I am challenged again by another young boy. I accept and we get ready to battle. He sends out a Kricketot. I grab the pokéball I know to be Stella's and throw it up in the air. She comes out ready for action. I know her moves since I looked them up last night.

"You can have first move," I say, wanting to get a good read on his pokémon before I attack.

"Okay Kricketot use Growl." He orders, and the Kricketot lets off a very loud growl, reducing Stella's attack.

"Stella let's go! Use Tackle!" she flies towards the Kricketot and lands a heavy tackle, but it doesn't do as much damage I was hoping it would. Stupid Growl attack. He orders Kricketot to use Bide. I don't know what this move is but I don't have time to look it up. The bug starts to glow, looks like I'll have to finish this before it charges.

"Stella, Quick Attack!" I order and she turns into a blur racing to hit the Kricketot full blast, but it's still standing. He orders the Kricketot to release the energy and it hits Stella with brute force. She's taken a lot of damage, but she's a trooper and refuses to give up.

"Stella, Quick Attack, once more!" she disappears in a blur once more to hit the Kricketot square in the chest, lifting it in the air.

"Now, Tackle!" she tackles it, sending it straight into the ground. One the dust clears, I see that Kricketot has fainted. I jump and punch the air.

"Yes! You did it Stella!" she lets out a very happy "Star-Starly!" I go over to the boy and kneel at his level and ask, "Do you have any potions?" he shakes his head. "Here, take one of mine." I hand him one from my bag and he thanks me.

"No problem. It would be a shame if Kricketot was hurt just because we battled." He hand me my prize money and walks away.

"That was very kind of you," Andreas says, startling me from behind, "Most trainers I know wouldn't even think to help the boy the way you did." I stand up and brush off my knees.

"Well, it wouldn't be right for me just to send him on his way with an injured pokémon, now would it?" I reply in a slightly sarcastic tone, "I believe in Karma. You do good things and good things happen to you. You do cruel things and the universe will take revenge." He just smirks and chuckles a little. Stella lands on my shoulder with a happy little trilling noise. I return her to her pokéball. We set off down the road once more.

"Hey I've been meaning to ask you," I say, "Are your eyes normally like that, or are you wearing contacts?" He just ignores my question.

"She really likes you, you know," He says with a smile, "She says you're a great trainer and very kind as well."

"She says?" I ask in confusion.

"You wanted to know why my eyes are gold, it's because I can speak to pokémon." He says in a very serious tone. I come to a complete stop in the middle of the road. I just stare at him, dumbfounded. "It's always been that way. People who can speak to pokémon always have unique eyes. In fact, it's why I am going to visit my uncle. I wanted to ask him a few questions and see what he knows. I suspect you might be able to as well with those vibrant, violet eyes of yours." Curiouser and curiouser, I think in a dumbfounded shock, I've fallen into Wonderland and can't seem to get a grip on reality. He waves a hand in front of my face.

"Hello?" he says, "Anyone in there? Did I break you?"

"No," I say quietly in return, "Just trying to keep my brain from shutting down."

"I could teach you how to speak with pokémon, if you'd like." I look at Prymas. What would it be like if I could talk to him?

"I might just take you up on that offer," I say with an excited smile. I've always been accepting of the mythical, hell, I thought we had fairies in our garden when I was eight! This is just something mythical given credulity.

"Okay, once we get to Jubilife I'll have to introduce you to my uncle." He says with a grin. We head off down the road again.

By the time we reach Jublife, I've been challenged to four battles, won all of them and got a ton of prize money, while helping the younger children by giving them potions and advice. Prymas learned Taunt, Stella learned Wing Attack and Ryu learned Twister.

The sun is going down and setting the glass windows in the city alight with a golden aura. Each and every skyscraper glows and shimmers with the light. We head to the Pokémon Center and I get my pokémon healed and go to the room Nurse Joy gave us. I crash on the first bed I see and fall asleep with Kani on my legs and Prymas next to my pillow.


	9. Aura of Life

I wake up and look around the room. Andreas is still asleep and Prymas migrated to the edge of my pillow, while I think Kani cut off circulation to my feet. I shove her off and head to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. When I am done and emerge from the bathroom, I see that Andreas is gone and my stuff is on the bed with a still sleeping Prymas and a lazy Kani.

I grab my bag and shake Prymas to wake him up. Bad idea. His flame tail alights with a burst and burns my wrist. I let loose a yell and quickly go run it under water. _Good thing I was reaching for his shoulder instead of his back. Looks like a minor burn, I'll ask Nurse Joy for some bandages. And to think that I finally got to take off the ones on my chest this morning. _I looked at my chest in the bathroom to examine the almost white scratches across my bust and upper chest. They look fine, no infection or anything. _Man I wish Earth had some of the medicine from this world, we'd be kicking Cancer's butt if we did._ I head back out to the room. Prymas looks worried and when he sees me he starts to tear up while saying "Chim Chimchar, Chimchar!" which I assume is an apology.

I pat his head and say, "It's okay buddy, it was an accident. Now we know what _not_ to do." I smile, but he still seems a little sad. I head down to the main lobby and talk to Nurse Joy. She bandages me up and I ask if she's seen Andreas, she points the way to the cafeteria. I see he found us a booth and ordered us pancakes, _mmmm pancakes._ I think as I inhale their delicious aroma.

"Well good morning," he says with a smile, "I thought you'd never come out of the bathroom."

"Oh shut up!" I say with tired malice, "I'm not a morning person so don't push it. Thanks for the pancakes though." I butter a few and drizzle syrup over them, then take a huge bite. "Mmmmmmm." Is all that comes out of my mouth. He chuckles at my delight and I get up to get some hot chocolate to wash it down with. When I return, half of his stack is gone.

"So what happened to your wrist?" he asks when I sit down.

"I foolishly tried to wake a sleeping fire-type," I explain, "turns out his tail goes out at night but bursts alight when he wakes up." He just chuckles and looks at me with mirth in his eyes. _Those gold eyes are so much like the ones in my dream, it's creepy._ I realize he's asked me a question.

"Huh?" I say.

"Gone with the fairies again?" he laughs, "I asked if you were going to visit my uncle with me today or if you were going to explore the city by yourself."

"I think we should compromise." I say after I swallow my breakfast, "I'm new to the city and you haven't been here for a while, why don't we sightsee on the way to your uncle's place?" He thinks about it.

"Alright then, we'll compromise." After we clean-up, we head out into the city. Jubilife is a very large city and it kind of reminded me of Minneapolis, in Minnesota. Everywhere you looked there were people rushing about their lives, no time to take in the beauty of the skyscrapers and parks dotted here and there. A rather chunky man runs up to the both of us and stops us in our tracks.

"You two look like pokémon trainers! How would you like to take part in a promotion today?" he hurriedly asks.

"Ummm… what?" I ask, "Who are you exactly?"

"Oh! Excuse my manners dear children. I am the president of the Pokétch Company. _Every_ trainer who's _any_ trainer has a pokétch! Here look at mine!" he shows us the watch on his wrist. It has a sleek design with a digital screen in the center with two buttons on the side. He clicks through various screens showing different apps with the buttons. "I am having a promotion for these lovely devices. Any trainer that can find all three clowns and answer their questions correctly will win a free Pokétch!"

"All right," I say looking at Andreas, "Why not, free watch." We set off in search of the clowns. The first one we meet is by the Pokémart.

"All right kiddies, your question is, 'Does a pokémon grow by defeating others and gaining Exp. Points?'" We both answer yes and he hands us both a coupon. We leave to find the next one. He's in front of the TV station.

"Good job children, your question is, 'Can a pokémon hold an item?'" We answer yes once again and he hands us our coupons. We take forever to find the third one; turns out he was in front of the Pokétch Company.

"Great job finding me kiddles! Most people don't," he says with a wink, "your question is, 'Just like pokémon types, do the moves of pokémon also have types?'" We both answer with a yes. _Duh! What trainer wouldn't know these answers? _He hands us the final coupons and we go find the President again. He's surprised that we returned so fast, but gave us our pokétches. Andreas gets a blue and white one and I get a red and white one.

"These are so cool! And they even match our outfits!" I say with a wide grin. Andreas just laughs at my bubbliness. We set off into the city once more to find the building his uncle lives in. It takes us most of the morning and part of the afternoon to find it. It's an apartment building and we head up to his room. Andreas' uncle is ecstatic to see him and quickly invites us in.

Carson is a very tall man with vibrant blue eyes with gold flecks in them. He has a mop of black hair that matches Andreas' in color and thickness. His apartment is impeccably clean and tastefully decorated in blue, brown and cream.

"Andreas! It's so nice to see you again after all these years! What have you been up to in your travels?" he asks while walking into the living area.

"It's nice to see you as well, uncle." Andreas seems to relax in the spacious apartment, "I have just been roaming here and there and everywhere. I've even traveled to each of the three lakes in Sinnoh. Uncle, I'd like you to meet Hailey, Prymas and Kani."

"Hello," I say. Prymas says a quick, "Chim!" before jumping off my shoulder to explore. Kani just goes and lies down by the couch. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

"And you as well, Hailey. Is this creature yours? She is very beautiful." Kani looks at Carson and analyzes him with a little bit of a prideful puff to her chest.

"Kani isn't exactly mine, per say." I say, rubbing the back of my head, "I got her at an animal shelter and she just kind of adopted me. She follows me everywhere and has become a good friend." I hear Kani give off a snort, something she does whenever I tell this story.

"Hailey, that's not true," Andreas says from the chair by his uncle, "Why not tell us the truth?" I sigh and sit on the couch and tuck my feet up under me.

"Traitor," I say as I glare at Kani, "Fine, I admit it, that story is a lie. Kani was owned by a drunkard and whenever he got into a rage about anything, he would beat her then shove her in a cage much too small for her size. He was my neighbor, and I liked to climb trees so I saw what he did to her. I called the ASPCA-that's a group that protects the rights of animals-but they couldn't do anything on the word of a ten year-old child, so I did what I could. One night I broke into his house and stole Kani. The man was such a drunk; he never noticed his punching bag was gone. He just found something else to take his rage out on. I brought Kani to the vet, but had to leave when I couldn't pay for her care. So then I helped her back to her feet by myself. From then on Kani refused to leave my side and would even follow me to school. The principal allowed it only because she was well behaved and no one was allergic to her. And the fact she would just sit and bark at the doors until someone would let her in." I chuckle at this particular memory, "There, that's the truth. You happy now Kani?" She lets out a satisfied huff and lays back down. "Wait, how did you know I was lying before?"

"I'm not just limited to pokémon, you know," he says with an arrogant grin, "Kani told me that day when you were battling the young boy with the Bidoof. She also told me of where you are from." I just stare at my blabbermouth of a dog.

"Impressive," I say, "Kani doesn't trust many people. So you were spying on me, were you?" He pales slightly._ Oh you're in trouble!_ "Hah! Didn't your mother ever tell you that spying is rude? At least then you know how new I am to this whole pokémon concept."

"Wait a second," Carson interrupts, "What am I missing here? Andreas?"

"Just the fact that Hailey here is from another world." I hold back the urge to giggle at the flabbergasted face of Andreas' uncle.

"What I really came here to ask you about is if you know what's happening to all the pokémon lately." Andreas says to his uncle, "Pokémon from all different regions are showing up here in Sinnoh, and the ones that live here already are migrating to places they shouldn't be. Hailey has even caught a Dratini, normally very rare anywhere else, but usually nonexistent in Sinnoh. Something is up and I was wondering what you knew about it."

"Well I can honestly say I don't know much. Here in the city not many pokémon are out of place since many trainers decide to live here, so there are already many different types. Tell you what, I'll keep my eyes open and if I see anything unusual I will call you. You still have your pokégear right?" Andreas nods. "Good. Now that I see the sun has slipped away on us, why don't you stay for dinner?" My stomach and Andreas' both growl loudly at the mention of food. We all laugh and go to the kitchen to make dinner.

We end up staying the night at Carson's place, I get the guest room and Andreas has to sleep on the couch. _Funny, he never mentioned he thought I might be able to talk to pokémon to his uncle. Oh well, must have slipped his mind._ I fall asleep on the comfortable bed surrounded by all my pokémon since I thought everyone deserved the night out of their pokéballs.

* * *

I wake up in the morning to the smell of frying bacon and a pile of warm bodies stacked on top of me. Kani is on my legs, Prymas is halfway on my hips, Ryu is curled up on my stomach and Stella is right next to her. I gently wake up Prymas this time and manage not to set anything on fire. Then I wake up the rest of them by sitting up and dumping them on the bed to go get ready in the bathroom. Stella wakes up with a squawk, waking up Ryu and Kani.

I wander out into the kitchen and see Carson making sunny-side-up-eggs and bacon and toast and pancakes. I grab a coffee mug off the counter and fill it to the brim with the amazing brown caffeinated liquid and two spoons of sugar to boot. He gives me a knowing look and a smile as he sees the mug in my hands. I sit on the table with everyone sitting around me, still shaking off sleepy eyes and heavy limbs. Carson sets a plate loaded with the goodies he made this morning in front of me then goes to the cupboard to bring out pokémon food for all my friends. I gotta say, Carson may be a better cook than Brock. _Hard to believe it's only been two days since I met them. _I put my egg on top of my pancake and stab the center to let the yolk flow and take a bite. _Mmmmm perfect!_

"So how's your morning," Carson asks in a sweet voice. I just level a, "I'd be happy to kill you know" glare at him.

"With your cooking, it's better than most," Is all I say before I dig in even further to my eggs, bacon, pancakes and coffee. Seriously, I wish I could wake up every morning to cooking like this.

"If looks could kill," he says with a quiet chuckle, not wanting to wake up his nephew, "I'd be six feet under. Speaking of eyes, did Andreas talk to you about what he can do?" I nod in the affirmative. "So then he told you about how unusual eyes are liked to what we can do?" I nod again. "What do you think about it?" I take my time in considering my answer.

"I have always loved anything mythical, and right now your whole world is like one giant rabbit hole to me." He raises and eyebrow at this, but I just shrug, "But considering everything that I've observed as 'normal' in this world, I think it's pretty cool. I'm mostly curious on how it works though."

"Ah, the ultimate question, how? Have you ever heard of aura?" I nod. "What would you describe it as?"

"Hmm, I think the most popular answer from my world is probably the energy that all beings give off. The natural energy of the world that flows in and around every creature in existence. Some people even say that each being has a colored aura, ranging from black to white and everything in between, most with multiple colors and very few with pure colors."

"Well I see you get the basic idea," he says with a breathy laugh, "That is exactly what it is, except for the colors. Most creatures have a spark deep inside them with a color or two specific to their personalities, never more. Each spark shines differently, but most of the same species of creatures have an overall, similar spark pattern. What Andreas and I can do is tap into the world aura and read the sparks of the creatures around us, basically reading their minds. Most of it is involuntary, we speak, they answer, we hear. But some don't discover their power until taught. Tell me, can you read the emotions and feelings of those around you with ease?"

"Sometimes," I reply, "It's kind of an off-and-on thing." He ponders what I said.

"I think I can teach you to read the minds of pokémon. Would you like to learn?" Andreas walks in, still in his PJ's and hair all messy. He grabs a plate of food and coffee and sits next to me.

"So you will teach her?" he asks before he shovels and egg into his mouth.

"No," Carson says to my surprise, "_You_ will teach her." Andreas chokes on his eggs.

"What?!" he sputters and coughs.

"I can teach her the basics, but since you are traveling together, you can train with her on her journey." I have to try hard not to giggle at Andreas' stunned face and he fumbles for an answer.

"We were only traveling together until I found you!" he says for an excuse.

"If that were the truth, Andreas, you would have parted ways at the Pokémon Center." I watch them go back and forth for a while, sipping my coffee to hide a smile.

"_They sure are long-winded."_ I hear from behind me and I turn to look for the culprit. I see no one but my friends, so I dismiss it as my imagination. I see that their argument is coming to an end, at this point it's just negotiations.

"You have to teach her how to at least enter the aura and recognize sparks and inanimate objects!"

"Fine Andreas, then you have to instruct her in the rest. It will be good review for you." Carson looks a little smug at winning the argument. I just roll my eyes, _Boys! _

"So when do I get to start to learn?" I ask them.

"Right now!" Carson says as he drags me into the living room. I almost spill coffee on myself but avoid it simply by chance. He makes me sit crossed-legged on the couch in a meditative style. He sits in his giant chair across from the couch.

"All right now close your eyes and focus on what I say." I obey and relax my muscles. "The aura of the world is always there, laying over everything like a blanket. Everything inhabiting the surrounding area should show up as sparks of different colored lights. Focus on feeling the tug and pull of the overlaying aura. Focus on the ebb and flow. Focus on the constant give and take, on the…"

His words fade away as I see the world of aura open up around me. He's right, it lays over all the inanimate objects like a blanket. I see different shaped sparks of color in the blue landscape, the one in front of me is yellow and in the shape of a tall human. _It's Carson!_ I realize. I look around the room. I see a bright green human, _Andreas._ I keep looking and see a small red spark shaped like Prymas, a red and purple mixed spark in the shape of Ryu, a powder blue spark in the shape of Stella and lastly a bright white spark in the shape of Kani. I open my eyes and smile at Carson.

"I did it! Did you know you are yellow? Andreas you are bright green!" I say with a frenzied happiness. Carson looks at me in shock and Andreas just looks at me with an unreadable face.

Andreas watches as Hailey sits on the couch and crosses her legs, putting her hands in her lap, palms up. He knows the routine, Carson will go on about the ebb and flow of the aura field until she can tap into it. This usually takes about half an hour before most students even feel a brush of the aura field. But something is different. Carson just drops off his sentence. He walks over to see what the problem is and immediately notices what caused his uncle's distress. Floating just above Hailey's palms is an aura sphere. A perfectly round ball of auric energy, just floating there above her palms. She opens her eyes and smiles.

"I did it! Did you know you are yellow? Andreas you are bright green!" she looks so excited. The men just stare.

"What?" I say in confusion, "I tapped into the aura, wasn't that the point?" the guys just stare at my lap. I look down and see a small blue ball floating in my hands. I lift it up to my face to study it further, but it starts to get smaller and smaller, draining away until nothing is left in my palms. "What was that?" I ask. Carson is the first to find his voice.

"Hailey, you not only reached the aura field in record time, you manipulated it," he says in disbelief, "That small blue ball was pure auric energy. You can control aura."


	10. Spies and Tries

"Well looks like it's your turn now Andreas," Carson says with a cocky smile.

"What do you mean, it's my turn?!" Andreas practically shouts, "You've been teaching her for ten minutes!"

"Remember, you wanted me to teach her how to enter the aura field and help her identify sparks," Carson reminds him, "She did exactly that. With what she told me, she can even identify her friends by their shapes! Her skill with the aura is amazing!"

"You guys know I am sitting right here, right?" I say in the middle of their argument. They both turn to stare at me. I just let out a sigh and say, "I think I'm going to go explore the city a little more." I return Ryu and Stella to their pokéballs and set them in my belt. I grab my bag and Prymas jumps onto my shoulder and Kani follows me out the door. I set off in the city with no real direction in mind.

Throughout my stroll I come across many family shops and even come across a huge, colorful building, but the man at the front gate wouldn't let me in. _Must be one of those 'Members Only' deals._ So I just turn around and head the other way. I finally find the pokémart, where I stock up on pokémon food, potions, status healers and traveling food, you know, like freeze dried stuff. I even remember to buy stickers for my pokémon's pokéballs.

I am left with 500 poké (_apparently that's what the money is called_) and a bag that's not even half full with all the junk I've stuffed into it. _I swear to God, I could fit a _bike_ in here and still have room! _I head back to one of those family owned shops and buy a sketch pad, some pencils, erasers and a sharpener. _I love these small shops, that whole purchase only cost 70 poké._ So I wander some more and on my way through one of the parks I notice a man in trench coat darting from tree to tree. I stop and stare at him even though I know it's rude. He just seems like one of those cheesy spy actors in a Hollywood movie. I jog over to him.

"Hello," I say, "Do you need help finding something?" He seems startled that I saw him, but quickly recovers.

"No thank you. I am quite fine," he says in a serious tone. He has sharp grey eyes and a short haircut.

"Oh all right, it's just you look lost," I say, knowing he is trying to hide something, "since I've been wandering the city all day I thought I might be able to help you find something." He turns to stare at me, like I'm some sort of strange bug.

"Well you might be able to help me," he says, "My name is Looker, and I am trying to find a few criminals. Have you seen any men or women with odd blue hair around the city today?" I jump a little at his bluntness and think back on my day.

"I don't think I have. Looker, that's a unique name," I say ponderously, "Are you a spy, Señor Looker?" He visibly starts and pales at my question. _Hah! Got you now!_

"How did you know that?" he asks.

"Well Looker, you might want to do a better job on your disguise, the trench coat and gloves are a little over-the-top. Try a t-shirt and jeans next time." He just stares at me. So I shrug and go to walk away, but he grabs my shoulder making Kani growl. He lets go, and I turn to face him with an eyebrow raised in question.

"You would make a great secret agent, young one," he says with a half-smile. "If you do see the people with the strange blue haircuts and grey uniforms, give me a call." He hands me a number on a small sheet of paper. "Tell no one you saw me here today." And with that he is gone, just poof! Gone. _Huh, at least he's got the dramatic exit down to a T. _I slip the number in one of my bags many pockets and walk off in search for lunch.

Great thing about the family owned shops; they almost always have better food than big restaurants. I find a place that sells ramen noodles and take an order to go, eating it on my way back to Carson's apartment. Once I get there, I see the argument is over and the boys are just talking about Andreas' travels. They both look up when I shut the door with my foot, I go over and sit on the couch. I take out my stickers and apply a white wing to Stella's pokéball after letting her out and a blue lotus flower on Ryu's after letting her out. Prymas already has a gold flame on his anyway, so I leave it alone. The boys resume talking while I am doing this, and I catch the tail end of one of Andreas' stories.

"Then I decided I wouldn't find it, so I left the lake and started on my way here. I saw Hailey battling a boy with a Bidoof, so I watched from the trees and talked to Kani. She told me about how Hailey saved her and Ryu called her a 'Strange Girl' so I asked what she meant and Kani told me how you two are not from our world. So the next day when we met, I decided to travel with you. At least to Jubilife anyway."

"Hmm," Carson mumbles, "Very interesting story indeed."

"What were you looking for at the lake?" I ask, "Lake Verity?" Andreas nods.

"I was there to see if I could find the legendary pokémon said to live at the lake. But I guess it did not want to be found. But I did find a few unusual pokémon at the lake. Pokémon that usually reside in different regions, like Chinchou, Zigzagoon, Pidgey and even a family of Mightyena." I cringe a little at this. Unfortunately, Andreas notices, "What is wrong?" he asks. I sigh.

"You want the long version or the short version?" I ask.

"Well we have plenty of daylight left, why not the long version?" Carson says. _Of course, no one ever wants the short version._ I think with a huff, and start my story. When I get done telling them about my journey start with Benji, Claire and Lucas, they sit there, digesting my words. Andreas looks at me with a bit of sadness in his eyes mixed with realization.

"Of course!" he says, "Palkia is becoming more active, and therefore Dialga as well. This is causing all the pokémon to act so strange. They sense the deities fighting and want to do something about it so they are traveling to the Sinnoh region, displacing the pokémon already here!" He seems ready to burst from excitement at figuring out why the pokémon are acting so strange.

"It makes sense; maybe they can sense something is going to happen," Carson ponders, "Something big." His train of thought reminds me of my dream, but I keep it to myself. I don't know why, but something inside me says that it's better to be kept secret for now. Carson snaps me out of my reverie.

"So earlier today, you mentioned a rabbit hole," he says, questioning, "when you were talking about mythical things. What did you mean by that?" I laugh. _Of all the strange comments he picks up on, down the rabbit hole is the one he asks about. _I think to myself while I chuckle.

"In my world there is a story called _Alice in Wonderland_, and in the story a young girl falls down a rabbit hole and ends up in a strange and exciting new world where almost nothing makes sense. The world is full of talking flowers, smiling cats, homicidal queens, card soldiers and madmen. You can see why I compare our two situations." Carson smiles and laughs and Andreas just looks lost, which makes me laugh. Carson then demands that it tell him as much as the story as I remember and I oblige, having it memorized anyway.

We tell stories late into the night and have a great time. _He makes me feel at home, _I think before I slip into bed, _for once I don't feel homesick. He would have been a great uncle to have. Andreas is lucky._ That night I am dreaming of the family reunion where my great aunt Patty accidentally spilled her food all over my dad, when a dark presence invades my dreams. It doesn't feel threatening, just dark. I see a large, snake-like shadow appear in a twisted and morphed world. Its glowing red eyes look directly at me.

_So other-worlder, you discover your strength. You will need all you can get when the time comes for you to save the world. Learn to control the aura of the land and prepare yourself. The Time of Reckoning is not far off. You and your friends will have to be strong and brave to save our world. For without this world, my own will crumble. Remember, other-worlder, we are all counting on you._ My dream is swallowed in darkness and I wake up with a small scream.

Kani and Prymas are instantly awake as I slap my hands over my mouth before another, louder scream can worm its way out. _That dark presence, however non-threatening, scared the bejeezus out of me! _I sit there hugging my two friends for a while, listening to see if I'd woken up either of the boys. _Sounds like I didn't, whew._ I look at Kani and Prymas and smile.

"It's okay guys, just a nightmare." Kani knows I'm lying, she always does, but she lets it go. Prymas fusses over me a little bit more, but I reassure him and he lies down next to Kani and falls asleep.

I get up and go to the bathroom. I splash water on my face and stand there, thinking about the dark shadow. The dream was a lot like the one with the pink and blue creature, but this creature wasn't a part of this world, it was part of another, warped world. Now not only do I have to save one world, I have to save two!_ Great, just great! The powers of this universe choose a purple-eyed, easily scared, fifteen year-old to save their world. Just, freaking great! _I see the bandage on my right wrist out of the corner of my eye. I take it off and look at the healed wound. It was a small burn, but it still left a patch of skin lighter than my natural, hardly tanned skin. It looks a lot like the scars on my chest, but instead of three long, jagged white lines, it's a swirling pattern, kind of like fire itself. _Not only have they picked a purple eyed freak they choose one stupid enough to get scarred twice in the course of one week._

I sigh heavily and head back to my bed. Instead of trying to catch the ever elusive creature called sleep, I decide to meditate and look at the aura field. I sit cross legged on my bed with my hands turned upward in my lap, like before. I close my eyes and focus on the surrounding aura. I dive in quicker than last time and look around.

The sleeping forms of Prymas and Kani are next to me, their sparks dimmed in unconsciousness. I look at my belt hanging on the bedpost. I can see the sparks of Ryu and Stella in their pokéballs. Both just as bright as Kani and Prymas, despite the barrier of their pokéballs. I notice a small light floating in my hands; I realize it's probably another aura ball.

I open my eyes, but maintain my concentration on keeping the ball in place. It follows my hands when I move them, always floating just an inch off my palms. When I close my fingers it shrinks to avoid being touched. I get an idea. I try to think of the little sphere in a different shape. It starts to wiggle then reform. In my hands, I now hold a perfect, blue replica of my pendant. The familiar form of the diamond shaped agate floats in my hands. It even has the different rings of color, still blue, but lighter and darker in the right places. Without looking away from my auric creation, I fumble around by my bag for my necklace. I grab it and bring it up closer so I can compare the two. They are exact matches. Same rings and width in-between them, same crystal center, the same exact size. The only difference is that the original is green, not blue.

I set my pendant down and study the amazing shape floating in my hands. I change the shape to random creatures. Rabbits, cats, Kani, even my dad at one point, all in miniature. _How could I possibly use this to save the world? What could possibly happen to this world that would need a teenager and aura to save it? _I sigh and let the aura trickle away. I feel the fatigue that just that little feat cost me. _Strange, I didn't feel this the first time. Is it because I consciously manipulated it this time?_ I decide to meditate once more before morning comes, to see if I can read one of my friend's sparks. I close my eyes once more and enter the aura world.

I identify Prymas' spark. I focus on it, for a minute nothing happens, but then I see a whole different scene. It's Prymas' first real battle, the one against the boy with the Bidoof. It's from his perspective. I see myself from my shoulder. I see myself look at Prymas and ask if he's ready. I can hear his thoughts as well as see from his perspective. He jumps down and is excited for his first battle against another trainer. I feel his determination to win for me. He quickly follows my orders to use Leer then Ember. I feel his joy at successfully attacking the Bidoof. I feel his apprehension at my Scratch order, but he obeys. I feel his disappointment at not being able to do much damage, but it is quickly replaced with joy when I order him to use Ember, even more joy at seeing the opponent fainted.

It shocks me how much this little pokémon has come to trust and love me in the little time that I've known him. His feelings of loyalty and trust are astounding. The dream switches to the morning I tried to wake him up, and I feel his guilt and remorse at burning my wrist. Even after I reassure him it was an accident, he feels bad, but determined to make it up to me. I feel him wake up and see myself sitting on the bed._ Man I really need to brush my hair. _I see him look up at my face and hear him think, '_I love this strange girl, I will always be there for her.' _I return to my own mind and open my eyes. I look at Prymas with love in my eyes.

"I love you too buddy," I say, "And I hope to live up to your expectations." I smile as his eyes open wide and he jumps into my arms. We hug each other and watch the sun rise from the window. We see it turn the windows of the city into golden mirrors, the way it did the evening I arrived here. Since the sun is up, I decide to get ready.

By the time I'm done showering and getting dressed, Carson is up and making breakfast once more. I head to my room to let everyone out of their pokéballs and get them for breakfast. We head out to the kitchen to find Carson. He's cooking like yesterday, but today it's waffles. This morning instead of coffee I have orange juice. I get out the Pokémon food to feed my friends and in the middle of pouring a bowl for Ryu I realize something. _I've never see Andreas' pokémon!_ Strange to think I've never even seen one of his friends. _I'll have to ask him today._ Carson sits next to me at the table once I finish feeding everyone, plunking down a plate with waffles in front of both of us. He sees my abnormally calm expression and blanches a little bit.

"You have a good night?" he asks, obviously in shock at my missing morning gruffness, "Or am I missing something like usual?"

"Yes I did have a good night," I say, "I couldn't sleep so I decided to practice with the aura. Turns out if I concentrate, I can shape it into different shapes and replicate objects. Oh, and I connected to Prymas last night." He chokes on the piece of waffle he was swallowing. I resist the strong urge to giggle, just barely. Once he's done coughing he stares at me as if I'd grown a second head.

"Yoo-hoo," I wave my hand in front of his face, "Did I break you?" He seems to return to this planet and shakes his head.

"This is so unusual," he says quietly, "So what did Prymas have to say?" I tell him about his feelings and his dreams. I tell him how I could see myself as he woke up and how he said he trusted me.

"Well it looks as if you are quite the trustworthy person," he says with a wink, "We'll just have to keep you practicing. Soon enough it will be second nature to you and you'll be able to just hear them." Andreas walks into the room grabs a plate of waffles and a mug of coffee then sits next to us at the table. He seems to be grumpier than usual this morning, so of course I have to tease him.

"Well good morning Sleeping Beauty! How was your night?" I say with a sweet smile. He stares daggers at me and continues to eat his waffles. After breakfast Carson tells him about my progress while I head to the guest room to grab my bag. Once I'm back out in the living room, Andreas is dressed and ready to go. We say good bye to Carson and head off to the east of the city, towards Oreburgh City and a trainer's first stop for gym battles. The day is bright and sunny as we set out, one of those days where you just want to stay outside all day. We exit the city when I remember what I was going to ask Andreas.

"Hey, Andreas," I say, "I don't think I've ever seen any of your pokémon before." He seems to think about it and nods with a chuckle.

"No I don't think you have," he says, still chuckling, "Every time I've had them out, you've been sleeping or gone. Well I guess now is as good a time as any to introduce you guys." He pulls out four pokéballs from the side pocket and throws them in the air.


	11. On the Road

The pokéballs burst open and their contents appear in front of me. Standing-and floating-there are four powerful looking pokémon.

The first looks like a black, blue and yellow lion with yellow eyes, just like Andreas. I point my pokédex at it. "_**Luxray, the Gleam-eyes pokémon and the evolved form of Luxio. Luxray can see clearly through walls to track down its prey and seek its lost young.**__" _It stares at me, sizing up my threat level and intimidating me with its serious eyes. Ever since my experiment with Prymas, I've been able to hear pokémon off and on.

"_Strange Girl." _Is all I catch from Luxray before Andreas' next pokémon catches my attention. This one is a large blue and white rabbit with a ball for a tail. "_**Azumarill the Aqua Rabbit pokémon and the evolved form of Marill. Azumarill can spend all day in water, since it can inhale and store a large volume of air.**_"

"Azu!" it says as it greets me kindly. "_A new friend!_" is what I catch from its thoughts. The one next to Azumarill is a floating purple balloon with four ribbon-like arms with yellow tips and a yellow X on its face. "_**Drifblim the Blimp pokémon and the evolved form of Drifloon. At dusk, swarms of Drifblim are carried aloft on winds. When noticed, they suddenly vanish.**_" This pokémon doesn't say, nor think a word, or at least as far as I can tell.

I move on to the next one. It is a grey, humanoid pokémon with a pink hat like head and pink legs with yellow dots on the knees. "_**Medicham, the Meditate pokémon and the evolved form of Meditite. It gains the ability to see the aura of its opponents by honing its mind through starvation.**_" It looks at me with nothing to say, but it thinks, "_She must be like the boy. Strange eyes._" That is the most I've caught out of any pokémon yet.

"Hailey, I'd like you to meet Leo, Zuza, Airo, and Melanite." Andreas says with pride. All his pokémon look at me and greet me in their own ways.

"Looks like you've been traveling a lot," I remark, "All your pokémon are evolved forms."

"Yeah, we've been around." He says with obvious pride. I hear a ringing noise coming out of my bag. I dig through my pockets until I find my pokégear.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey Hailey, it's Benji," I hear from the other end.

I squeal in delight, "Benji! Hey! I was wondering when you'd call me!"

"Glad to know I was missed! What's happening, Torchic?" he says with a laugh.

"Torchic? Anyway, I am just leaving Jubilife with Andreas. I met him on route 202. We met up with his uncle and now we're heading off to Oregurgh to get my first gym badge!"

"Ah, so that's why I couldn't find you in the city, you'd already left! Hold on," Benji says quickly, "Now I see ya!"

"What do you mean see-" I get cut off as a large dark brown and white bird lands near me, startling a small squeak out of me. I can just barely see over the top of the bird's head. Then Benji jumps off and releases the bird.

"Thanks for your help, Staraptor!" he turns to me with a gigantic grin on his face. I squeal like a total dork and crush him in a bear hug. "Hailey… Can't… Breathe!" he manages to say and I laugh as I let go.

"It's so good to see you! It's been like a week! How was your mission? Did anyone get hurt? What was happening? Why did you take so long to call?" I rattle off like a bullet. Andreas just chuckles at my happy fervor. "Oh! Benji, this is Andreas. Andreas, Benji."

"Nice to meet you man," Benji says in that stupid way every guy does.

"And you as well," Andreas replies.

"Well Hailey, My mission was fine. No one got hurt too bad, just a few sprains and bruises. Turns out a ton of rock type pokémon decided to stampede in Mt. Coronet and we had to calm them down before they could do too much damage. And the reason I took so long to call was because I only just finished my mission this morning. There are a lot of rock types in that mountain, ya know." Benji explains, "Why didn't _you _call_ us_?"

"Because, Genius, you never put any of your numbers into the pokégear!" I scold him, "All I've got for phone numbers are Lucas' and Rowan's!"

"Speaking of, how is he? He help you out when we left?" Benji asks.

"He's good, but Rowan is keeping him busy. And yes, he totally did! He showed me how to catch pokémon, so now Claire can rest easy," I look around, "Where is Claire?"

"She got assigned to another mission already. Had to do something up in Snowpoint City, I think."

"Oh, okay. I don't think you know about my other pokémon yet! I already caught two!" With that I take the two pokéballs off my belt and release them into the air. Ryu and Stella both pop out in front of Benji. "Benji, I'd like you to meet Stella the Starly and Ryu the Dratini! Go on girls, say hi." Stella lands on my shoulder and trills at Benji, saying, "Starly, Star!" which translates to "Hello, boy!" Ryu makes that cooing noise of hers saying, "Hello!" Benji stares at Ryu like he's never seen a dragon before.

"Hailey, how did you catch a Dratini?" Benji asks in a stunned tone.

"I guess I need to catch you up on a few things. Come on we can talk while we walk to Oreburgh." As we walk I tell Benji all about what has happened since he's been on his mission. Everything from Lucas' kindness to meeting Andreas to finding out about my aura powers. The only details I leave out are my dreams. I can't think of why I leave them out, but something inside me says that now is not the time. Besides, Benji would only worry about me more than he already is, and that might get annoying. By the time I'm done with my story, we are pretty far from Jubilife and the woods surround the well-traveled path we are walking on.

"So you can manipulate aura?" Benji asks.

"Yep."

"And you can talk to pokémon?"

"Yep."

"And so can Andreas?"

"Yep."

"Wow," he says, "I knew you were unique, and all, but this is crazy."

"Says the boy who never doubted my claim of being from another dimension," I say with a grin.

"Hey, you had plausible proof," he argues, "You mentioned Palkia without even knowing what a pokémon is!"

"Yeah, you just keep believing that, big guy," I keep teasing Benji. His face is priceless when he's at a disadvantage.

"So you're the guy who saved Hailey?" Andreas asks.

"Sure am!" I swear I can see Benji's head swell in arrogance.

"Hmm," is all Andreas says.

"Hey guys, look! A swimming hole!" I yell as I point out the tiny lake, or huge pond. One or the other, "Let's take a dip!" The boys smile and follow me as I run towards the water. I go to find a secluded spot so I can change.

"Man, I hope they included a swimsuit for me," I mumble to myself as I dig through my bottomless bag. I pull out a two piece bikini with sky blue stripes and pull it on. It fits perfectly. _I'm not sure if I should be grateful or totally creeped out._

"What do you think Kani?" I ask as I focus on her spark.

"_Not bad. It fits you well._" I hear her soft voice say.

"So you're the one I heard at breakfast when Carson was arguing with Andreas! Guess it wasn't my imagination." I say ponderously as I head back to the swimming hole. The boys have already jumped in along with their pokémon. Except Airo and Melanite are staying on the bank. I see Weavile splashing Benji and Leo and Zuza swimming with Andreas. Prymas sits underneath a tree, preferring to nap than to get wet, which is understandable, him being a fire type, and all. Ryu is waiting for me and Stella doesn't seem to want to get wet either, sitting on a branch that hold Benji's clothes. An idea pops into my head. I go over and whisper it to Stella, I can see the natural trickster coming to life in her eyes.

"_Fun idea, can't wait to try!_" She says as she nods in agreement and goes back to roosting on the tree branch. I take a running start and jump into the lake.

"Cannonball!" I yell, splashing everyone near me and even getting Melanite a little. I see her glare directed at me, "Sorry Mel!"

"Heads up!" I hear Benji yell and looks to see, receiving a face full of water.

"Benji! Again?!" I sputter, coughing up some of the water I inhaled. Benji just laughs at my drowned cat face. I shove a splash back at him, catching him off guard.

"HAH!" I say in victory. Then it escalates into an all-out splash war, only ending when Andreas has Zuza use Whirlpool to make us all dizzy. As we exit the water I wink at Stella, signaling for her to get ready.

As soon as Benji reaches for his clothes, Stella takes off with his shirt, shorts and underwear, flying just high enough into the air so Benji can't reach them. I break down in giggles seeing Benji jump around like a rabbit after his clothes and Weavile joins me in mocking his master. Weavile and I high-five each other and laugh away at the hilarious sight of Benji and Stella. It goes on for a good ten minutes before I can't breathe anymore and tell Stella to give him his clothes back. She does so by dropping them in his face, then perching on a branch out of his reach to avoid revenge. Benji glares at me then breaks out into a smile and laughs along with us.

"I told you I would get you back for the water bucket!" I say, still laughing, "Now we're even!"

"Nice job, Torchic," He says with an evil grin, "But now I'm gonna have to prank you back, just so everyone knows who's king around here."

"In your dreams," I challenge, "Why do you keep calling me Torchic?"

"Torchic is the fire type starter in the Hoenn region. You remind me of a friend's Torchic, mostly because you and him have the same personality. So, hence the nickname Torchic."

"Okay then," I say, not really understanding, "I'm gonna go get dressed." I go and put my clothes back on and by the time I get back the boys have already set up camp for the night. _Strange, I didn't realize how late it got. Time flies when you're having fun I guess. _

"Don't worry guys, _I'll_ get the firewood!" I say in an exasperated tone. "Come on Prymas, let's go get some wood." As Prymas and I leave the campsite I hear Benji start to snicker. _Real mature, Benji. Boys will never change. _I think to myself as we gather wood for the fire. Prymas spots a berry tree, much like the one we saw on our first night out in the Sinnoh region. These berries are different though. They are yellow with little brown spots and are kind of shaped like pears. We pick a large amount and head back to camp with our finds.

When we get back I set up the fire and have Prymas use Ember to get it going. Benji and Andreas are talking about one of Benji's missions, one that apparently included a lot of heroics. I can't help but laugh at the animated way Benji tell his story. _He's like a kid bragging to his friends about his new Hot Wheels car. _

"So what's for dinner boys?" I ask, knowing they've probably never given it a second thought. Andreas looks guilty, but Benji never bats an eye.

"Well, we were hoping you'd think of something," he says with his trademark, arrogant grin.

"You're just lucky I'm here," I say with a huff, "If I wasn't you'd probably starve." I reach into my bag for the food supplies I bought in Jubilife and pull out all I need. I make Hobo dinners, which is pretty much potatoes, carrots and meat in tinfoil, cooked on the outside of the fire. Girl Scouts 101, gotta love it! Once the food is cooked through, I take them out of the embers and set them in the grass to cool. I can practically hear Benji's stomach growling from the other side of the fire. I poke the tinfoil after a few minutes and feel that they've cooled down enough to eat.

"All right, come and get it," I say with a smile. Benji, of course, wolfs his down without really tasting it. Andreas and I just laugh and enjoy ours.

"Man, that was really good! What do you call those anyway?" Benji asks.

"Hobo dinners," I say, laughing at the face he makes, "Just because they're called hobo dinners doesn't mean they're gonna kill ya! You know, technically, I am homeless. Now what do you say?" I say in that patronizing tone all mothers use at one point.

"Thank you Hailey for the best dinner I've had in a long time," Benji says as he smiles as innocently as he can. Andreas just snorts and almost chokes on a potato. Of course Benji had to ruin it by saying, "Finally, a woman that can cook! I thought I'd never get a good meal with Claire cooking."

"I'm sure it's not that bad, Benji," I say with a teasing smile, "You're still here aren't you?"

"That's only because I have an iron stomach. Her cooking goes down like a sack of rocks and sits in your stomach like one too," he jokes back. I laugh along with him and Andreas.

"You know I'm going to have to tell Claire about this," Benji actually pales a little in the firelight. "Hah! How 'bout a truce? You don't prank me and I don't tell Claire about your opinion of her cooking."

"Deal," he says with a deflated smile, "So you're going to challenge the Oreburgh Gym, eh? I hope you can pull a good strategy out of thin air. Roark uses rock types, and you don't exactly have any type advantages with you. I hope you can think of a good strategy." I think about what he says and see that he's right. Prymas is a fire type and doesn't know any advantageous moves and neither does Stella, who is a flying type. The only pokémon that I have that might stand a chance is Ryu. But even she doesn't know any super strong moves.

"Don't think too hard, you might hurt yourself," Benji says with a laugh, and I throw a stick at him. Of course, Kani has to chase after it, tackling Benji in the process. That makes me laugh. Benji just looks flustered. Kani comes back with the stick in her jaws, tail wagging high in the air. Andreas laughs at whatever she's probably saying in her mind. I pet her as she lays next to me.

"Well when we get to the city, I'll have to make something up," I say with a yawn, "I might just have to wait for someone else to battle him before I do, so I can see how he handles his pokémon. Damn, where did the day go?" I look up at the stars overhead and study the unfamiliar patterns.

"You can actually see the Shaymin constellation tonight," Andreas remarks quietly.

"Which one is that?" I ask.

"It's the one over next to the really bright star, there," Benji points it out and I see it. It kinda looks like a hedgehog with extra bright stars for eyes.

"You know that's supposed to bring good luck," Andreas says, "Maybe it'll help you with your Gym battle."

"Maybe," I say. I've never quite believed in luck. Mythical things, yes. Luck? Not really. I believe people make their own luck. I lay down on my sleeping bag and stare at the stars before falling asleep. My dreams that night consist mostly of _Alice in Wonderland _references and _Wizard of Oz_ characters.

* * *

Benji wakes me up in the morning, which is kinda nice when he's not dumping water on me. I get up and stretch, cracking my joints in the process. Andreas actually looks worried at all the noises I'm making.

"Don't look so worried, Andreas, I do this just about every morning. I wake up like an old lady. Benji, don't say a word!" I say before he can make a peep. He just smiles and goes back to cleaning up our campsite.

By the time we are done clearing things up the sun has risen to a decent spot in the sky. While we walk, Benji tells more stories and we listen. He is actually really good at making the story seem alive. When he runs out of stories, they pester me with questions about my world. I answer them to the best of my abilities.

They are most interested in the Olympics. Apparently, the closest they get to that is the occasional challenges to the Elite 4 and Champion. But those come too few and far between to be any real entertainment. I tell them about how we have both summer and winter Olympics every two years, alternating. They find it fascinating how so many countries come together peacefully to play sports and compete against one another. When they get bored of that I tell them about my hometown.

It's right on the Mississippi river and near the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I had only just moved to Iowa when I was transported to this world, so I don't really think of it as home. They ask me what I mean by the Twin Cities, of course, and I explain.

"They're kind of like sister cities, across the Mississippi from each other. They make up the biggest metropolitan in Minnesota, I believe. So when one mentions the Twin Cities, you know they are talking about St. Paul and Minneapolis as a whole." I explain as best as I can, "St. Paul is the capital, but I think Minneapolis is the bigger of the two. It's definitely the more popular since it holds the sports stadiums." I finish off with a sad smile. _Remembering my home sure aint easy. I wonder if I'll ever be able to go back. _

In my daydreams, I don't notice Benji and Andreas stop in the middle of the road. I walk a good ten yards before I notice their absence. I turn around and look at them. They are staring off into the open field on the right side of the road. I look at where they are staring and don't notice anything. I walk back to them.

"What's got you two gaping like wares at a fish market?" I ask. Benji just shuts his mouth and points. I follow the direction his finger is pointing and I don't see it at first. When I do, the only thing I can think of is, _Oh my God! How cuuuuute!_ Sitting under a tree is a small yellow and black mouse with pink cheeks and triangular ears. One of its ears, however, has a spiky tip instead of just the triangle tip. It looks to be lost, with the sad face it has. I walk over to it and sit on my haunches.

"Hello Little One," I say quietly, "What's got you down?" I focus on its yellow spark so I can listen to its thoughts.

"_Just the fact that I'm lost, far away from home, hungry and tired. That's all, but you can't understand. You're human and can't speak Pokémon. So I guess you'll just make up some stupid reason in your head or try to battle and capture me._" He says with a small sigh.

"Well, being far from home is never fun, and I should know. But maybe I could help you with that." I smile as I see the little creature look at me with incredulous eyes. I dig out one of the small yellow berries from my backpack and hand it to the little creature. "Here, this might take care of the hungry part." He takes it and immediately chows down, throwing the core away.

"_So you understand what I'm saying… right now… seriously?_" He asks, incredulous.

"Yeah, dude, seriously. Where are you so far away from anyway?" I ask.

"_I usually live in this rich old guy's garden, he has it kept up especially for us small pokémon. It's really nice._" I pull out my map and scroll around. Turns out there is this big and famous mansion near Hearthome City known for its gigantic garden. I also pull out my pokédex to see what creature this little mouse is. "**Pichu the Tiny Mouse pokémon. The electric pouches on its cheeks are still small. They cannot store much electricity yet.**"

"So Pichu, how exactly did you end up all the way here on Route 203, from Hearthome?" I ask.

"_I was looking for adventure when I upset a Staravia and it attacked me for overturning its nest. Eventually I ran out of steam near here._" He explains, the occasional spark leaping of his cheeks.

"Well, I am going around Sinnoh, collecting badges so I can challenge the Elite 4. Wanna come with me on my adventure and join my merry band of misfits?" I see him deliberate in his head, but he doesn't seem to think too long about it.

"_All right. Sounds like fun!_" He says with a big grin.

"Whenever you're ready, Sparky," I say as I set down a pokéball in front of him. He touches the small circle in the middle and gets sucked in by a red light. It doesn't even wiggle before I hear the click of success. I smile as I pick up the ball and head back over to Benji and Andreas. They stare at me like I've just grown a second head.

"What?! Seriously stop staring, you're making me feel eye-groped." I yell at them.

"You are just a magnet for strange things." Andreas says before shaking his head and walking off towards Oreburgh.

"What the hell did I do now?" I ask Benji.

"Nothin' much. Just caught a Pichu nowhere near where Pichu are normally found and not only that, it's got a strange ear that I don't think has ever been seen on a pokémon before."

"Oh, so just that?"

"Yeah."

"Whatever," I say as I walk off to catch up with Andreas, Benji right behind me. Prymas sits on my shoulder and I say to him, "I'm not a weird magnet, I'm just always in the right place at the right time. Or should I say wrong? Hmm."


	12. Effing Caves

As my merry band of misfits and I walk towards Oreburgh, I work on hearing pokémon as we walk by some wild ones. It's getting easier, almost instinctual, now. I hear a group of Bidoof talk about where to find some berry bushes. Some small blue and black, lion cub-like pokémon are playing a game of tag in the grass. Andreas says they're called Shinx, and are the first stage in the evolution of Luxray, like his Leo. About fifteen minutes down the road, Sparky decides it's a good idea to join us on our walk.

"Holy crap, Sparky! You scared me half to death!" I yell as he climbs on top of my head, "What's wrong?"

"_I don't like it in that little ball. It's too cramped. So I decided I'll travel like fire-butt down there._" He says in a matter of fact tone.

"His name is Prymas, not fire-butt. But okay, if you fall off it's not my fault, and no complaining. This is your choice." I inform him. I see Benji holding in a laugh out of the corner of my eye. "What's your problem?" I ask him.

"It's just funny seeing you talk to Sparky and not being able to hear the other end of the conversation." He says finally letting out his laughter, "Especially when the term 'fire-butt' comes up!" I roll my eyes at him and continue walking. With Prymas on my shoulder and Sparky on my head I feel like a pokémon totem pole, but I put up with it. Prymas seems to be the silent and strong type, since I haven't heard a peep out of him all morning.

"You okay buddy?" I ask him, "You're awfully quiet, especially after being call 'fire-butt'." Prymas just looks at me and smiles.

"_Don't worry. It'll take more than a mouse to upset me._" He says calmly. I nod and continue following Andreas. Over the course of the next hour I tell the boys a few fairy tales from home and we get caught up in the story. I don't notice the giant cave before we are right next to it. I immediately shut up and stop in my tracks as I look up at the massive stone tunnel. I can feel the blood leaving my face. Benji and Andreas look at me with confusion on their faces.

"Hailey, what's wrong?" Andreas asks. He looks very concerned. _Does my face look that bad? I gotta learn how to control my emotions. _

"Is there any other way to get to Oreburgh?" I ask with a small gulp.

"Nope, this is the only road in and out. Unless you want to go around Jubilife, through Floaroma Town and south from Eterna on the Bike Road and walk down a very steep hill that has a habit of creating small mudslides. So it's either this or take a month to go around. What's so scary about a tunnel?" he asks.

"Just the fact that I am not good in dark, enclosed spaces. Seriously it's like Claustrophobia to the max." I squeak out.

"If it's Claustrophobia to the max, how come you do fine in buildings?" Benji asks.

"And you were fine in my uncle's apartment." Andreas adds.

"Buildings and apartments have doors that let people out, and windows that let in light. They are generally escapable, with very few small spaces. Caves and tunnels are generally dark, have many small spaces and are easy to get lost in. Then there's the fact that they could cave-in or just the fact that the ground might not be stable, or the air could be full of poisonous gasses, or-" I feel myself begin to hyperventilate and panic. This is one thing I have always hated, my fear of dark enclosed spaces. They don't even have to be small spaces for me to freak out, just dark and enclosed. Andreas puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Hailey, it's going to be okay. This is a well-traveled tunnel. There is no chance of it caving-in or of it being dark. There are lanterns set up for travelers and we have Prymas. You have Benji and I as well as your pokémon friends and Kani. It will be fine." The way he says these words is very reassuring. I look down at Kani as she snuggles closer to my leg. She knows what I'm talking about. In fact, she's the one who rescued me from one of my brothers' pranks. They tried to lock me in the hall closet, but she got there before they could lock the door and basically opened it. I don't know exactly how, but I think she's much cleverer than she lets on. I know a few of my friends have pets that know how to work door handles, so they have to constantly lock their doors. I look back up at the cave and let out a small whimper.

"_Don't worry. It's not that long. Besides, we can run through it if we need to. You've got us to protect you anyway!_" Sparky says as he climbs down to my free shoulder. Prymas jumps off and heads towards the cave.

"_Just follow me. I will light the way._" I let out a long sigh and follow my friend into the cave. The first few minutes are fine, since I can still see the exit. But once we get farther from the exit, I start to get nervous. Even with Prymas lighting the way and the lanterns on the walls, I am not exactly a happy camper. Benji says we are about halfway through when we come across two teens battling their pokémon. I take out my pokédex and scan them to distract myself. "**Ryhorn, the Spikes Pokémon. Ryhorn's powerful tackles can destroy anything. However, it is too slow witted to help people work.**" The trainer commanding Ryhorn is a boy wearing what looks like a Boy Scout uniform. "**Buneary, the Rabbit Pokémon. Buneary's ears are always rolled up. They can be forcefully extended to shatter even a large boulder.**" I remember that Dawn had a Buneary.

The trainer commanding the small rabbit is a young girl in a school uniform. Buneary looks pitifully small compared to the Ryhorn. Watching the battle is very distracting and helps me forget my fear. That is, until the boy orders his Ryhorn to use Earthquake. Then all Hell breaks loose. Apparently, the Ryhorn is a little stronger than I'd originally thought, because when he uses Earthquake, the cave starts to rumble and rocks start to fall from the ceiling.

Soon it turns into a downpour, of course, making me panic. I run in I don't really know what direction and end up at an unknown location inside the cave. While the rocks are still falling, one hits me right in the ribs and knocks me into the wall. When the rocks finally stop falling, I can't see Benji or Andreas or Prymas and I have no idea where I am. At least I still have Sparky and Kani by my side. I look behind me to see a straight up wall of rocks. I groan really loudly and stand up with a pain in my ribs. _I really hope I didn't break one._

"Great! Just _fucking_ great! Now we're trapped in a cave, with no way back to the damn entrance and no way to find out where the hell we are." I start to panic. I grab one of the lanterns that survived the cave-in. "We might as well try to find somewhere to get out. Let's get to it before I really panic."

"_You mean that wasn't panicking?_" Sparky asks from atop my head. I make a point to ignore him. The next two hours (or as far as I can tell) are spent fighting off mind-consuming fear and these stupid blue and purple bats with no eyes. I take out my pokédex at the one that decides to bother us now. "**Zubat, the Bat Pokémon. Zubat checks its surroundings and location using reflections of the ultrasonic waves from its mouth.**" _So pretty much like a normal bat. _After Sparky faints the millionth one, he learns a fourth move, Iron Tail. Which he finds pretty awesome since his only attack move before was Thundershock. We run into another Zubat and Sparky takes care of it effortlessly with his new Iron Tail. _Seriously, how many fucking Zubats can one cave hold?! This is going from really scary to just fucking annoying. _Did I mention I tend to swear a lot while under a lot of stress? Well now you know.

* * *

The light from the lantern is starting to die, and I speed up my pace. Now we are running into different pokémon. These are all rock types and water types. I send out Ryu and Stella to earn some battle experience and to see if we can find out a strategy to use against Roark. While battling the rock types, I notice they are a little top heavy and slow. I tell Ryu to aim her twister at the legs of a Graveler. It falls flat on its face and is unable to get up quickly, opening itself up for a barrage of attacks from Ryu. The Graveler faints and Ryu does a happy dance, making me chuckle, then gasp. _Stupid rib!_ My friends look concerned but I reassure them that I am fine. In the course of beating a ton of random attacking pokémon, I realize that Ryu has forgotten Leer. _I guess they can only know four moves at a time. I'll have to ask Andreas about this later._

We end up at a fork in the path and I stop to decide which direction to take. In the middle of thinking, the lantern goes out, plunging us into darkness. I really start to panic then. Not being able to see my surroundings is not good for my fragile state already. I sit down quickly, my legs basically giving out. I bring my knees up to my chest and start to panic. I can practically feel the cave getting smaller and smaller, the air running out, leaving my with nothing, suffocating me. The simple loss of light just sends me into a panic almost as strong as the one I was in the time Kani had to save me. I feel a sharp sensation on my hand.

"_Hailey Alexandra Knightingale. You will not dissolve into a panic," _I hear Kani's gentle voice scold, "_You are going to use your aura to create a light and you are going to follow me out of here. Do you understand?_" I squeak out an affirmative before concentration on the aura world. After an agonizing fifteen minutes I bring up a glowing blue orb. It doesn't give off much light, but it's enough to stop most of my panic. I see Kani biting my hand and realize that she is the sharp sensation.

I return Ryu and Stella to their respective pokéballs and resettle Sparky on my shoulder as best as I can with one hand. I get up in protest from my ribs and grab Kani's collar with one hand, holding up my makeshift light source with the other. Kani starts walking down the path on the right, following her nose. We walk for what seems to be another hour until I finally see a small pinprick of light ahead. I drop the aura ball and let it extinguish itself as I run towards the exit. Forget the pain in my rib, or the exhaustion for using aura for an hour, or the fact that I was just panicking for my life. I want out of this hellhole right now! I hardly register Kani's pawsteps behind me. Once I reach the light I let out a relived sigh and lay on the grass, looking up at the wonderfully blue sky.

"I swear I will never go through another cave again. 'It won't cave-in' he says, 'it's fine' he says. Bullshit!" I yell at the sky. _It's strange how a seemingly near-death situation can change your perspective on the little things. Like wonderful grass, or the amazing sky or just the delightful sound of birdcalls. _I hear footsteps.

"Found her! Only you could make up a curse like 'Bullshit'," Benji says as he blocks my view of the sky.

"Don't you ever make me go through another fucking cave, ever again!" I glare at him, but I ruin it by giving him a relieved smile. "So how long have I been trapped in that hellhole?"

"About five hours," he says nonchalantly, "I knew you'd find a way out so I was searching all the exits I could find. Good thing too, you look like you could use a meal and some sleep."

"Don't get me started." I roll my eyes, "Come on, let's get to a Pokémon Center, I think I fractured a rib." Benji helps me up carefully and Andreas supports my other side, even though it's unnecessary. We make our way into Oreburgh slowly and by the time Nurse Joy is done fussing over me, I collapse into the first bed I see in our room, effectively shutting out the world for a few hours of well-deserved sleep.

* * *

Turns out I cracked a rib. Not serious enough to be called a fracture, but I just can't climb trees or jump up and down for a while. I wake up in the morning to a pile of furry bodies and a dull ache in my ribs. I would be content to lay there, but my growling stomach is having none of it. I sit up, a groan escaping my lips, Stella falling off my chest with a squawk onto Sparky who lets off an electric charge, shocking everyone else(including me). Everyone immediately crowds around me making various noises of concern and muttering.

"Guys, I'm fine," I say with a small chuckle, looking at Kani's electrocuted fur, "Just a cracked rib. It will probably be better within the month." I head off to shower. _Lucas was right, this shower feels _amazing_! I'm finally clean!_ I think to myself as I jump out and get dressed, glad that I had enough sense to ask Andreas if he could wash my clothes for me. I head back out to the bedroom and tell everyone to follow me.

We head down to the cafeteria in the Pokémon Center, and find the boys lounging at a booth with their pokémon eating beside them. I grab a few bowls and pokémon food from the kitchen and get my friends breakfast ready before I slide into the booth with the boys and a big bowl of cereal. The boys continue talking until I finish my cereal.

"So what happened after I got separated from you guys?" I ask, startling the boys out of their conversation.

"Well," Andreas starts off, "When that wall of rock blocked us off from you, we started to see if we could find a way around, but any other roundabout tunnels were farther back. So Prymas, Benji and I went and reported the incident to the Gym Leader, Roark, and we had his assistance in clearing the tunnels, and trying to find you. The other mine workers were looking to see if any other travelers were trapped in the cave along with you, but it turns out we were the last ones to enter it. Benji decided to look around the other exits in the city to find out if you had already stumbled out, but it wasn't until he was on his way back till he found you. By then I'd finished helping Roark clear the fallen rocks with the help of Melanite. When Benji yelled that he found you, I came to help. That's pretty much it. Oh and Roark would like to make sure you're okay, seeing that you were the only real victim of the cave-in. He might stop by today, or we could meet him at the mining site." Andreas finishes his story by staring at me, trying to assess my health just by looks. Prymas climbs into my lap from beneath the table and I pet his head, flattening the little swirl of fur he has on top.

"So what happened on your end?" Benji asks, cutting straight to the point, "By the time we got here last night, you just crashed on the first bed you saw." I hesitate for a minute, trying to gather the panicked thoughts from yesterday. Prymas looks up at me with sad eyes.

"_I'm sorry I wasn't there for you,_" he says with a frown.

"It's okay, little man, I'm just glad you didn't get squished." I reassure him with a small smile, but he still looks a little sad. "As for what happened, well I swore a little, grabbed a lantern and went to find an exit." I recount my journey through the cave and my totally awesome skills in defeating all the wild pokémon that wanted to pick a fight with us.

"Yeah those Zubats are considered pests by most people, especially us Rangers. They just love to attack unwary travelers with Supersonic and confuse anything in sight." Benji says with a laugh.

"Well anyway, after that we started to run into other pokémon and I had Ryu and Stella help out and earn experience, but we eventually came to a fork in the road and our lantern went out. I lost it a little bit," I say not really wanting to go into detail about my panic attack, "but Kani calmed me down and lead me out of the cave. Which is when you guys found me." I finish my story quietly.

I really don't like to think about how I just broke down in the cave. I hate being debilitated by fear, I hate being helpless. I am not a damsel in distress, I am usually the hero. I would have been the one to protect Kayden from bullies. I would have been the one to help him with his fractions and reading assignments. I was usually the person in school actually sticking up to the bullies, instead of hiding in the crowd and hoping a teacher would show up soon. I would have been the one to stick up to all the bully Seniors when they make fun of us underclassmen at the school pep fests. I am horrified that I can be so easily frightened by a bit of darkness. Prymas still looks at me with worried eyes, but I smile, trying to reassure him.

"Well, we shouldn't keep the Gym Leader waiting, right?" I quickly ask as I jump up, out of the booth, swinging Prymas onto my shoulder. I need to get some fresh air." I return Stella and Ryu to their pokéballs and Sparky climbs up my back to perch on my head. The boys look at each other, Benji smiling and Andreas looking mildly concerned. I walk through the Center and by the time I reach the door, the boys have caught up with me. I exit out into the spacious coal-mining town.

The buildings lining the dirt roads are simple, but not ugly. They fit the mountainous terrain and are not too shabby. Andreas takes the lead, walking towards what appears to be a construction site. Following him through town, I see many people and what appear to be steam vents. I stop and ask one of the lounging mine workers what they are.

"These? These are vents that bring air to the Underground Tunnels of Sinnoh." He says with a friendly smile. I thank him and catch up to the boys. We reach the construction site and I see that it's not that at all. It's a bunch of belts and pulleys moving dirt and what looks to be coal. I think of the dirt pits we have in Elk River, where there's a company digging for who knows what. This reminds me of one of those pits, except the belts are coming from inside a cave, not from the surrounding area. I shudder when I look at the dark entrance of the cave, not able to suppress that little reaction. Andreas leads us to a normal looking building in the corner of the lot. He knocks at the door and after a minute, Benji just opens the door and walks in, startling the man just about to open it.

"Um, who are you children?" he asks, bluntly.

"We're here to see Roark," Benji says, no hint of remorse, "He said if he didn't come by the Pokémon Center this morning, to meet him here. So where is he?"

"Oh, you're those children…" the man rubs the back of his neck, "Well, ya see… he's in the mines right now, and he's not likely to come up anytime soon. Once he gets to work down there, he gets really into it, and he doesn't come out until all the rest of us are leaving as well." The foreman looks guilty at not being able to help us out.

"Why don't we just go see him? Is that all right?" Andreas asks the foreman.

"I see no reason it shouldn't. Sure, go ahead!"

"Thank you," Andreas says as he exits the house dragging my slow self with him, Benji bringing up the rear. As I am pulled out the door I realize what Andreas just said and I hit the brakes.

"Woah, woah, woah! You are not dragging me through another cave! Look what happened to the last one! Seriously, I'm gonna have to start making a list of all the injuries I've gotten since coming here!" I protest, glaring at each of the boys,

"It's gonna be a cold day in Hell when I go back through another cave! No effing way, man!" Andreas just looks at me, pleadingly. Benji smiles, like he's amused, so I shoot him a glare.

"You were doing fine in the Oreburgh Gate until the end." Andreas tries to reason.

"Yeah, because the damn thing CAVED IN!" I shout, "I was fine because you assured me it was a stable, sturdy cave! Look what happened to it! All it took was one pokémon battle, and it just crumbled! No way not again. _You_ go in there and find him, and I will wait right _here_." I say, planting my feet in emphasis.

"You know what, okay, you win," Benji says, putting up his hands in defeat, "Andreas you go ahead, I'll be right behind ya. I just wanna talk to Hailey about something." He turns to give Andreas a thumbs-up and Andreas leaves with a confused look on his face. I know just what he's feeling. _Since when does Benji give up so easily? He chased Stella for ten minutes just to get his clothes back._ I think, casting a suspicious eye on the foolhardy boy.

"Don't give me that look," he says, acting wounded, "I really just want to talk. I want you to show me what you can do with aura. I haven't seen it yet!" He sounds just like a boy watching a magic show. I sigh and sit down on the dirt, not caring if I get my shorts dirty. I said I wasn't moving, and I mean to keep that promise. I close my eyes, quickly diving into the world of aura to bring up the small blue ball of energy that usually accompanies my trips. I take a quick peek at Benji's spark, curious about his color. Turns out he's a deep, royal blue, with bits of bright green swirling around in his shape. I open my eyes to see Benji captivated by the little ball of energy in my hands. I shape it to look like him, clothes, goggles and all. I smile at his wonder and say, "Ta-dah!" he smiles at me and looks back at the tiny him.

"You got all the details right, even my shoes. Why is it blue?" he asks.

"I don't really know," I respond, "I guess that's just the color of the aura I can manipulate."

"Can you make it move?"

"Never tried before," I frown slightly in thought, "Let me try." I concentrate on the mini-Benji to get him to walk. I don't notice the real Benji until it's too late. I am picked up off the ground like I weigh no more than a pillow, and Benji tosses me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, dislodging Sparky from my head. I hang there in shock, my hips on top of Benji's shoulders and the rest of my front hanging down Benji's back. I don't really realize what he's doing.

"Benji! What the hell?!" I yell at him, recovering from my shock.

"You need to face your fears, Torchic," he responds happily, if a little evilly, "And I am gonna help you do that, even if you don't want to."

"What?! Benji, put me down!" I yell at the stubborn boy, "I'm gonna make Sparky zap your ass!"

"Go ahead," he says.

"Fine! Sparky, please Thundershock nitwit here." I say and Sparky is quick to respond, sending a jolt of electricity at Benji, but he sidesteps it. Sparky keeps sending little bolts of electricity at Benji, but he is too fast. Sparky looks worn out and collapses in a heap, too tired to continue. We are nearly at the cave entrance and I am squirming enough to do any nightcrawler or earthworm proud. I try to hit his back, kick my feet, even reach for his sides to give him Jumper-Cables, but he just jounces me on his shoulder to make me stop every time. He stops and picks up Sparky, grabbing his pokéball off my belt and returning him. Prymas walks behind us, looking up at me and smirking.

"Prymas, do something!" I beg him.

"_As much as I hate to cause you grief, I agree with the Benji. You do need to conquer your fear._" He says, still smirking.

"Some partner you are," I grumble. I try to reach to my belt to grab Ryu's or Stella's pokéball, but Benji jounces me again. Even if I did get one of them out, I don't know what would happen then. Stella, being the trickster she is, would probably help Benji and Ryu would probably see this as a game.

"Benji seriously, put me DOWN!" I yell, fear creeping into my voice as we enter the shadow of the huge cave.

"No," he responds, "There are a lot of cave routes you are going to have to travel through in your journey, considering Mt. Coronet goes straight down the middle of the entire region. You need to own up to your fear and defeat it. I used to be scared of flying, but now that I'm a Ranger, I have to fly to nearly every mission. You can't let fear stop you from living your life." Benji is sounding really philosophical, and it's messing with my brain. Like when he and Claire had to leave for the mission inside the mountain. Benji rarely shows this determined side, preferring to be the arrogant trickster.

We enter the cave, and I really start squirming, but Benji had to good a grip on my ass. I know he's sadistically enjoying this, but I just want to get out. Benji, Prymas and I head deeper into the cave, supposedly to where Roark is working.


	13. Roark and the Coal Badge

"Benji I swear to God, if you don't put me down I'm gonna bite your ass!" I shout at him, pleading to be let down.

"Ooh, kinky!" he says with a chuckle. He still doesn't set me down. We are far inside the cave now. Some of the coal miners stop their work to stare at the Ranger carrying the girl trainer. I hear snickers form a few of them and send death glares in their general direction. My brain is too busy trying to figure out ways to get Benji to let me down to panic about being inside a cave. I guess I should thank him for this, but my anger is in the way.

"Benji, put me down now!" then a great idea pops into my brain, "If you don't then I'll tell Claire what you think about her cooking!"

"Fine," he replies calmly, "I'd have to tell her soon anyway. I'm not getting enough nutrition." I give up and settle for digging my elbow into Benji's lower back to prop up my head.

"I suppose you still agree with him?" I ask Prymas, raising an eyebrow. He smiles at me and nods his head.

"_You really do need to get over your fear of caves._" He says, smiling. I let out a heavy sigh and go along for the ride. I see lots of Zubats flit back and forth across the cave and rocks with faces and arms, like little Gravelers with only one pair of arms. I even see a large, worm-like creature made up entirely out of boulders. The smaller pokémon make sure to stay out of its way. We reach a large cavern that contains what appears to be a humongous slab of coal. I see workers picking away at it and the surrounding walls with various tools.

"Seriously, Benji," I say in as calm a voice I can manage, "Can you put me down now? I do have an excellent pair of working legs, which I'm pretty sure you've noticed as well." He chuckles and keeps walking. I huff and try to distract myself with the pokémon flitting back and forth in the cave.

"Benji, what did you do now?" I hear from nearby. It's probably Andreas, but the cave echoes make his voice sound older.

"I am in the process of forcing Hailey to confront her fears," he says, laughing.

"Benji, seriously," I yell, "PUT ME DOWN!" I've never yelled at Benji with my full volume yet, so it's an understatement to say he's surprised. He drops me and, unfortunately, I land on my stomach. My ribs flare up in pain making me gasp and grab at my ribs.

"Oh crap! Sorry Hailey!" Benji hurriedly apologizes.

"Here, allow me." I look up to see who just talked. It's a young man, about mid-twenties, with red hair underneath an orange hardhat and red/brown eyes behind a pair of rectangular glasses. His outfit consists of a black shirt under a grey and yellow short-sleeve jacket and grey and yellow pants and black boots. He offers me a hand, which I gladly take and he pulls me to my feet.

"I have yet to introduce myself. I'm Roark, the Oreburgh Gym Leader." He says with a charming smile. "You must be Hailey. I would like to apologize for the cave-in of the Oreburgh Gate."

"It's not exactly your fault," I try to reassure him, "We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, I only got a cracked rib out of it. I didn't even fully break the bone. That's like a record for me." He laughs at that.

"Andreas here says that you've come here to challenge my Gym," he starts, "And after yesterday, I would be honored to battle such a determined challenger. How about tomorrow, around noon? Three on three battle. Is that all right?"

"Yeah, that's perfect. I'll have time to train tonight and even have time to sleep in!" I smile and he extends his hand for a handshake. I gladly accept it, but he gives me a strange look.

"Why are your hands shaking? Nervous?" he says with a teasing smile.

"Partly. I don't exactly feel comfortable in caves," I say sheepishly.

"That's an understatement," Benji interrupts, "You should have seen her after I found her yesterday. She was swearing at the sky. Specifically at you Andreas." He snickers at the guilty look on Andreas' face.

"What did I do?" he asks, wounded.

"'It will be fine, it won't cave in'," I say mockingly, "Sound familiar?" He blushes and gets flustered. I can hear Roark chuckling at our-admittedly-childish fight.

"How was I supposed to know some idiot would make his Rhyhorn use Earthquake inside the tunnel?" He defends.

"All right, all right, ease up," Roark says, holding up his hands, "No one knew what was going to happen. Let's just be glad no one got severely damaged." He's still smiling with Benji, "I have to get back to work and manage the miners. Why don't you three go train together so we can have a memorable battle, eh?" I simply nod and go back the way Benji and I entered. By the time I get near the entrance, I start to run. I can't stay calm in here any longer. I run out into the sunlight and just stand there to catch my breath.

"I really freaking hate caves," I think out loud.

"Get used to it, Torchic," Benji says behind me, "You'll have to go through caves at _least_ five or six more times before you beat the Sinnoh League."

"I'll cross those bridges when I get to them!" I say, "For now let's go enjoy the open space." We set off for the edge of town where I can hopefully find some trainers or wild pokémon to battle. When we get there I see no trainers in sight so I walk towards the tall grass to see if I can find some wild pokémon to battle with, but Andreas stops me.

"Hailey, do you have a strategy for defeating Roark?" he asks.

"No. I was planning on winging it," I reply. Benji face-palms and Andreas just gives me a weird look. "What?!"

"You planned on going up against a Gym Leader without any plan at all?" he asks, incredulous, "Just how were you going to pull that off?"

"Easy! I train with my pokémon and we kick his butt!" I say with a confident smile. Benji just groans and Andreas shakes his head.

"Didn't you come across any rock-types in the Oreburgh Gate?" Benji asks. I nod. "Didn't you notice any weak points?"

"Yeah. Most of the ones I came across were bulky and slow. Ryu and Sparky had no trouble taking them out. That reminds me!" I say, "When we were battling in the tunnels I noticed that Ryu forgot Leer. Why is that?"

"Pokémon can only know four moves at a time. In fact, you can use your pokédex to decide which ones they forget. I'll tinker with it after you train. Back to what you said earlier," Andreas says, "Why not use your speed to your advantage?"  
"That might just be the trick!" I toss Ryu and Sparky's pokéballs in the air, releasing them. "Come on Ryu, Sparky! You, Prymas, and I are going to train for our battle against Roark!" Sparky climbs on top of my head to his usual perch. Ryu makes a happy coo and jumps into the tall grass with us to find some pokémon to battle. We come across a blue, humanoid pokémon first. I take out my pokédex and scan it. "**Machop, the Superpower Pokémon. Though small in stature, it is powerful enough to easily heft and throw a number of Geodude at once.**" It says.

"A fighting type, eh? Let's go Ryu!" I order and Ryu jumps into battle, quickly taking out the Machop. She may not be really speedy, but she's faster than the Machop. _Maybe if I can use her slender body to my advantage…_ I muse, walking around to find the next opponent. A creature like the small rock-like ones in the cave pops out next. I scan this one as well. "**Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. At rest, it looks just like a rock. Carelessly stepping on it will make it swing its fists angrily.**" _It's a rock with a face and arms._ I think with a sigh.

"Sparky, let's go! Iron Tail!" I order and Sparky takes a flying leap off my head and slams his glowing tail into the Geodude. After a short battle the Geodude is knocked out as well. _His Iron Tail seems to work best with momentum, maybe…_ I muse again after our battle. I return to the boys, rummaging through my bag, looking for potions.

"Hey Andreas, do you have any potions? Sparky took a couple hard hits and I want to heal him up," I look up to see both Andreas and Benji staring at me once more. "What now?!" I yell at them.

"Sparky shouldn't be able to know Iron Tail. At least not till he's a Pikachu." Andreas informs me.

"Did you not notice his spiky ear? He's unique! Just like me!" I smile up at my pal.

"_Yeah! Listen to Hailey!_" Sparky berates Andreas. I laugh at his attempt of being bossy. He's just too cute to pull it off.

"Like I said before, you are a magnet for strange." Andreas says as he shakes his head.

"And you talk to pokémon!" I shout for a come-back, "So what if strange things happen around me? I'll just make your life more fun!" I smile and search once more through my bag for a potion. I use my last one and head back into the grass to see if I can find an opponent for Prymas. I can hear the boys mumbling to each other but I choose to ignore them.

"You know, she may be right," Benji says, watching Hailey fight a Kricketot.

"About what?" Andreas asks.

"About making life more fun. She has been fun to travel with, the short time I've been with you guys." He points out.

"She's just so…" Andreas is at a loss for words.  
"I know what ya mean. She may not be from this world, but she's such a natural." Benji says, sitting next to Kani on the grass.

"She has not trouble at all with her pokémon. Not in the slightest. She's already got four and they all love her. Most trainers I know can hardly handle two before their first Gym battle, let alone _four_." Andreas says, following suit and sitting next to Benji, "And she's so accepting of the fact that she's in another world. I just don't get it. I would be freaking out if I were her."

"Hailey is just… She doesn't let things bother her. She may get panicked and scared inside the caves, but she still goes through them. She may panic on the inside, but on the outside, she's as calm as Lake Verity. She's a lot like a water-type. She just goes with the flow, never letting an obstacle get in her way. I just want to know why she's here. It's not like Palkia just randomly visits other dimensions and brings people back. And then there's the fact of all these pokémon from other regions, just popping out of nowhere and the ones that already live here are in places they're never found. What is happening?" Benji starts to pet Kani, trailing off into his thoughts.

"What do you know about Dialga and Palkia?" Andreas asks, pulling Benji out of his musings.

"I only know that Dialga is the Master of Time and Palkia is the Master of Space. That and the fact that they're always fighting about something." Benji says.

"Hmm" Andreas hums, "That last part isn't exactly true. Dialga and Palkia usually live in peace. It's only lately that they've been fighting. I think that's got something to do with Hailey being here." Benji stares at Andreas with a questioning look in his eyes, but Andreas dismisses him with a wave of his hand. "I'm from Celestic Town. We're big on myths there, especially with the shrine in the center of town. From what I've gathered from our histories, Dialga and Palkia never fight. They have too much to do controlling their respective elements. Yet, from what Hailey said, they have started to fight for no reason. Palkia was injured, and I believe Dialga might be injured as well. Maybe their injuries are driving them mad, so they're taking out their confusion on each other.

"Pokémon are sensitive to the world around them. My uncle and I think that maybe the pokémon sense this fight and are migrating to Sinnoh to try and do something to stop it. The problem is that they can't do anything, or that they don't know what to do. So they're just taking up space and causing trouble." Andreas says sadly. "I've got this nagging feeling that something big is going to happen soon and Hailey just might be at the center of it." Benji looks at Hailey, ordering Prymas to attack a Machop. He watches her as she jumps in joy of victory and congratulates Prymas. _She's so encouraging. I can see why each of her pokémon loves her already._ Benji thinks to himself. Hailey walks over to the boys with a large smile on her face.

"Come on guys! Let's go back to town. I think I have a strategy all planned out." She gives Kani a good ear rub as she stands up and heads back to Oreburgh. The boys follow her and they reach the Pokémon Center as the sun starts to dip below the horizon.

At the Pokémon Center, Andreas fills me in on how to program the pokédex to beep whenever one of my pokémon will learn a new move, so I can decide which one they will forget. He also shows me how to look up moves, natures and other information that isn't on the first two pages of information on the pokémon scanned. I hope I remember all of it. I pile into bed with every one of my pokémon piling on top of me. I don't even need a blanket to keep me warm tonight!

I stay up late into the night trying to make sure I've got everything planned right for tomorrow in my head. Eventually my brain shuts down long enough for me to fall asleep.

* * *

When I wake up in the morning, Andreas and Benji are nowhere to be seen, like always. I wake up Prymas and then dump everyone else onto the bed, then go get ready for the day. _I sense a tradition starting._ I think to myself as I get ready in the bathroom. I exit and my friends follow me down to the cafeteria where I serve them before sliding into the booth with Andreas and Benji, grabbing a couple waffles from Benji's stack and setting them on my own plate.

"Hey! When did I say you could have any?" Benji protests.

"Since I don't care," I reply tersely. Andreas laughs and continues to eat his waffles.

"So you ready to take on Roark?" Benji asks, already over the loss of part of his breakfast.

"You bet! I can't wait to win!" I smile and look at my pokémon.

"Well I can't wait to see the plan you've come up with." Andreas says. We finish breakfast and leave the Pokémon Center. I didn't put any of my friends back in their pokéballs since I feel they deserve a day out. They've been working hard. We get to the Gym just a bit before noon since I got distracted by a traveling salesman.

I think my brain might be part magpie, since I get so easily distracted by shiny things. The building is massive and colored brown with a white half-circle above the door. I enter the building with Andreas and Benji following close behind. The inside is very much like a cave, but the windows around the top of the walls keep me from getting nervous. I see Roark at the back of the Gym, talking to a man in glasses. I reach the back and hear the tail end of the conversation.

"-on't care what he's saying, I'm busy!" Roark says, exasperated, "Tell him I'm with a challenger."

"Yes sir," The man in glasses says before scurrying off to who knows where.

"Roark are you using me as an excuse?" I question teasingly, smiling. He starts and turns around to face my friends and me.  
"Well, you're right on time!" He rubs the back of his head guiltily, "So it looks like I won't be lying after all." He smiles and I shake my head with a smile.

"So are you ready to get your butt whooped?" I ask.

"Oh I'm not the one who'll be losing today," He says with a grin, "But now that we've got that out of the way. Welcome the Oreburgh Gym! I am one of the trainers who specialize in rock-type pokémon, and as Gym Leader, I need to see how tough your pokémon are before I even think about giving you a badge." He smiles and pushes a button on the wall. The ground a few yards away from us splits open and a rocky field appears from beneath the floor.  
"This is where we will battle," Roark says with a smile at my astonished face. He walks over to a box at one end and gestures for me to do the same at the other.

"Kani, Stella, go sit with Andreas and Benji. Stella I want you to watch because you may learn from this," I say. Kani nods at me and Stella trills a happy tune before flying over to Benji and roosting in his hair. I walk over to the rectangular box at the other end of the field with Ryu, Sparky and Prymas by my side. A man takes up a platform near the middle. From what Andreas told me about Gym Battles, I guess this to be the referee.

"This is a three on three battle. The winner will be decided when all three pokémon from one team are unable to battle," He lists off, "Furthermore, only the challenger will be allowed substitutions. Begin!" With that out of the way, he waves his flag, signaling the beginning of the battle.

"I'll be the gentleman and reveal my choice first," Roark says, "Let's go Geodude!" he throws a pokéball into the air and the familiar rock pokémon appears in the field of battle. I smile and look back at my team.

"Prymas, you're up buddy. Showtime!" Prymas grins wickedly and bounds out onto the field.

"So you chose a fire-type starter, eh? That's not a good matchup, we'll take this win easily. Geodude, Stealth Rock!" Roark orders and Geodude sends a shockwave throughout the field. Some of the rocks start to levitate and float around in the air.

"Prymas be wary," I say, not knowing what this move will do. But that's just it, the rocks just float in the air. _That's weird. Maybe it was a dud._ I think to myself.

"Alright, since that was so effective," I say sarcastically, "Prymas, Leer!" He sends a death glare at the Geodude, unnerving it and dropping its defense. Roark just smiles and orders his Geodude to use Rock Throw. The Geodude grabs a rock from the field and hurls it at Prymas and it hits him square in the stomach before I can tell him to dodge. I wince in sympathy but I can't give up this early.

"Prymas, use Leer once more then Ember!" I order. Prymas quickly glares at Geodude once again lowering his defense and then switching up to spit a lick of flame at the rock. Geodude crosses his arms to block, but the Ember hits pretty hard thanks to our training yesterday. Geodude doesn't look very damaged at all and I scowl.

"Surely you know Fire attacks won't do a thing to Rock pokémon?" Roark teases, "Geodude Rock Throw!" Geodude once more hurls a rock at Prymas, but he dodges to the left. I order Prymas to use Scratch and he runs to obey. Roark orders Geodude to use Rock Throw again. As the rock is thrown I order Prymas to jump and use Ember. He sails through the air, over the small boulder and spits fire directly into Geodude's face, quickly retreating to our half of the field. Geodude is starting to look worn down, but nowhere near fainting yet. I order Prymas to use Taunt to hopefully aggravate Geodude into making a mistake. I can't help but chuckle at his faces he throws at the rock pokémon.

"Oh, so you think this is funny? I'll show you something to laugh about," Roark says, "Geodude, Rock Throw, and make this count." The Geodude picks up a really large rock and hurls it at Prymas, only to be dodged at the last second. Prymas continues to taunt him, making the Geodude pissed. The Geodude finally snaps and starts to throw rocks willy nilly at Prymas, most of which he dodges, but a few hit hard. _I've got to end this soon, otherwise Prymas will faint. _

"Prymas, Scratch!" I order and Prymas rakes his fingers across Geodude's face, shocking him. "Now, Ember!" Prymas blasts fire into Geodude's face and jumps back. Being so close, the Ember his hard and I see the Geodude collapse.

"What? How?!" Roark says in disbelief. I smile.

"If you were paying better attention, you would have noticed the burn Geodude had after the second Ember. That's why Prymas didn't faint and why Geodude went down so easily," I say, just a little patronizing.

"Well that's interesting, but I still have two pokémon left so don't get cocky," Roark says, returning Geodude and throwing his next pokéball into the air, releasing its contents onto the field. I look up at the monster in front of me. _Holy shit! It's huge!_ I gulp. I pull out my pokédex and scan the gigantic boulder-snake. "**Onix the Rock Snake Pokémon. Onix burrows through the ground at a speed of 50 mph while feeding on large boulders.**" _He's probably going to use this to his advantage, I'll have to be cautious. _

"Prymas, are you okay to continue?" I ask and he nods with a smile. I look around the field, waiting for Roark to make the first move.

"Onix, Screech!" Roark orders, and Onix lets out an ear piercing scream. It sounds like rusty nails on a chalkboard and it hurts both Prymas and I's ears. I grit my teeth and order through the pain.

"Prymas, Ember, then Scratch!" I order and Prymas jumps to it. He spits fire at the Onix, sitting him right under his head. But when he goes to Scratch at his face, Onix knocks him away with his tail.

"Onix, Rock Throw while it's down!" The Onix hurls a big rock at Prymas as he's getting up and hits him hard. I see Prymas struggle to get up, and he does, just barely.

"Prymas, Ember!" I order quickly, hoping he doesn't collapse. Prymas quickly sends a blast of fire at the Onix, hitting him in the same spot as before. Roark orders Onix to use Rock Throw once more. It hits Prymas and sends him flying straight into me. I feel my rib flare up and I gasp. _Damn that hurt! But I can't think of what Prymas endured._ I look down to see my buddy in no condition to continue.

"You did amazing Prymas. Take a good long rest," I say before handing him to Benji on the sidelines. Benji smiles and gives me a thumbs-up. I think for a minute on who to send out next.

"Sparky, your turn!" I look down at my little mouse and he grins wildly before running out onto the field. But something happens. The rocks that were floating all around when Geodude used Stealth Rock immediately attack Sparky, digging into his sides.

"What?!" I yell in surprise.

"That's Stealth Rock. Whenever you send out a new pokémon, it does damage to them," Roark explains with an evil grin, "But you're going to take on my Onix with a Pichu?" He sounds confused.

"The bigger they are the harder they fall," I say as I smile, "Sparky, Charm!" He immediately acts as cute as he can, Onix falling for it perfectly. I can see Onix make a confused face and look back at Roark.

"Onix, burrow under the ground!" Roark orders and the giant snake-like pokémon tunnels into the ground, disappearing in seconds.

"Sparky, be wary, who knows where it will come up." Sparky stays on his toes, searching the field for movement. Roark smiles.

"Onix, Rock Throw!" He orders. The ground beneath Sparky rumbles and then a boulder shoots out of the ground, hitting Sparky and sending him into the air, only to land with a thud on the ground. Onix burrows out of hiding and reappears in the field.

"Sparky, quick, use Iron Tail!" I order and he dashes towards the Onix, his tail glowing white. He jumps and hits the Onix right where Prymas hit with his Embers. Onix roars in pain and staggers back a little.

"How?!" Roark asks in disbelief once again.

"Never underestimate an opponent, Roark," I say with a smile, "Sparky again, Iron Tail!" But Onix quickly knock him away with his tail. Sparky tumbles end-over-end but jumps up with an angry yell.

"Atta boy Sparky! Let's keep going, Iron Tail again!" I order and Sparky once again runs to attack the Onix, but Roark orders it underground once again.

"Sparky! ZigZags!" I order, calling out one of the strategies I developed outside of town yesterday. It was meant to confuse Roark's pokémon, but it will work as an evasion technique in a pinch. Sparky runs around the field, going left and right, up and down, and all over. I don't think Onix will be able to track Sparky, but I'm always wary.

"Onix, Rock Throw!" Roark orders. The telltale boulder bursts out of the ground, just barely missing Sparky when he makes a turn. Onix appears above the ground and before he can disappear again, I order Sparky to use Iron Tail once more. He scores a direct hit on one of Onix's body boulders. Roark orders Onix to knock him away, but Sparky retreats before he can. Roark orders Onix to use Rock Throw, and it hits Sparky before he can jump out of the way. Sparky is looking pretty worn out and beat up, so I decide to end this. I look around for a solution, and an idea hits me like a ton of bricks.

"Sparky! Hop across the floaters, and then use Iron Tail!" I say as I point at the rocks that are floating because of Stealth Rock. He nods at me then jumps up and across the floating stones towards Onix, his tail glowing, building momentum with each leap. Roark orders Onix to use Rock Throw to defend and Onix sends a rock flying at Sparky, just barely grazing his side, but Sparky doesn't lose momentum. He reaches Onix and slams his tail onto the top of Onix's head, bringing him down with all the extra momentum behind the attack and dust fills the air, making us all cough. When it clears, we all see both Sparky and Onix fainted in the middle of the battlefield. _That last Rock Throw must have done it._ I think to myself as I smile, _But he took down Onix with him_. I walk out onto the field to retrieve Sparky and I pick him up bringing him over to Benji and Andreas for a rest.

"You did amazing Sparky. You took down a creature a hundred times bigger than you," He squeaks quietly and smiles before I hand him to Andreas. Andreas smiles.

"One more to go Hailey, don't get over confident," He says before sitting back down with Sparky in his lap. I return to the field and face Roark once more.

"You are a very talented trainer, I'll give you that," Roark says, "But we've both got one pokémon left and I know you won't be able to take down this one like the other two."

"We'll see Roark," I say with a teasing smile, "Send out your pokémon!"

"If you insist! Cranidos, let's go!" Roark says as he throws his last pokéball into the air. A grey and blue dinosaur appears on the field with a small roar. I scan this one with my pokédex as well. "**Cranidos, the Headbutt Pokémon. Cranidos lived in jungles around 100 million years ago. It would demolish trees with headbutts.**" _So it likes smashing things? _I think to myself.

"Ryu, you ready?" I ask my friend. She coos and slithers out onto the field.

"A Dratini? Where did you find that?" Roark asks.

"That's for me to know and you to not," I tease. It's hard not too when I'm riding on a wave of adrenalin, anticipating the end of our battle.

"Cranidos, Pursuit!" Roark orders and Cranidos runs to attack Ryu.

"Ryu, dodge!" I order and she slithers quickly to the right, but Cranidos is too fast and lands his attack. _He's speedy for a rock-type. We'll have to fix that._

"Ryu, Wrap!" She wraps her body around Cranidos' feet and body, securing his small arms as well. "Now Thunder Wave!" She lets off a bright blue electric charge, not hurting Cranidos too much, but definitely paralyzing him. She slithers off his body, but keeps the end of her tail around his legs so he can't go anywhere.

"Nice tactics, but that won't stop us," Roark says, "Cranidos, Headbutt!" Cranidos smashes his blue head into Ryu's and deals a fair amount of damage.

"Ryu, retreat!" I order. I don't want her to be a sitting duck. "Now Twister!" Ryu summons a tall whirlwind and sends it flying at Cranidos. On the way it picks up stones and dirt, and those just add to the damage that Cranidos takes when it hits. Cranidos weathers the hit and goes on to Headbutt Ryu again on Roark's orders. He is starting to slow down, thanks to Ryu's Thunder Wave, but it's not proceeding fast enough. Ryu may be pretty solid in the defense category, but she can only take so much.

"Cranidos, Pursuit!" Roark orders.

"Ryu, dodge serpentine!" I order. Ryu slithers away, fluidly zigzagging across the rocky field around rocks and boulders, Cranidos following her as best he can, but the paralysis is taking effect. Cranidos eventually gives up and Roark orders him to use Leer in hopes of unnerving Ryu. She just glares right back at Cranidos.

"Ryu, Twister at the rocks!" She summons another small Twister and points it at the rocks in front of her, sending them flying into Cranidos. He is pelted by the rocks, but refuses to go down.

"Cranidos, Pursuit again!" Roark orders and before I can tell Ryu to dodge, Cranidos hits Ryu hard. _Where did he get that burst of speed?!_ Ryu is starting to look battered. _Cranidos must be really strong, but so are we!_

"Ryu, Twister him in the air!" Ryu summons a larger Twister this time, sucking up Cranidos and hurling him into the air. "Now Ryu, Slam down!" I order and she jumps into the Twister, rocketing towards the helpless Cranidos. The Twister dissipates and Roark and I watch our two pokémon in the air. Ryu wraps her body around Cranidos' middle and spins, letting him go at the right moment to send him rocketing to the ground. He hits the ground like a comet, leaving a small crater. Ryu lands gracefully, even though she is covered in scrapes, bruises and is panting. Cranidos doesn't get up from the crater and the Referee blows his whistle, holding up a flag in my direction.

"Cranidos is unable to battle, as are Onix and Geodude. Therefore the match goes to the Challenger!" I stare in disbelief for a couple seconds then practically scream in joy.

"Ryu you did it! We won! We won!" I jump around in a circle and run to the middle of the field to scoop up my little dragon before she can collapse on the ground. I give her a big hug and say, "We won!" over and over again. Prymas, Stella, Sparky and Kani join my celebration. We all jump around like total dorks in joy, except for Stella, she flies in circles over our heads. I hear someone clear their throat and I turn to see Roark raise an eyebrow. I blush and stop jumping. Prymas climbs onto one shoulder while Sparky climbs onto the other, Stella takes a seat on my head and Kani sits proudly by my feet and I hold Ryu in my arms.

"Well, looks like I lost. And to a challenger without a single other Gym badge," He laughs quietly, "In recognition of your victory I officially present you the Pokémon League Coal Badge." He hands me a badge placed atop prize money. The badge is silver and brown and is kind of shaped like a treasure chest. A small, boxy treasure chest with a round top. I smile up at him after I pin the badge onto the right lapel of my coat and put the money away in my bag.

"Thank you. Your pokémon were amazing as well and I hope to maybe battle you again in the future." I say, hugging Ryu a little tighter. Roark smiles and nods his head.

"Well you'll have to defeat all the other Gym Leaders in Sinnoh before you challenge the Sinnoh League. Maybe we'll battle again after that. Just know this, they are all even tougher than I am." I scoff.

"We'll beat them all and win the Sinnoh League! I have no doubt about that," I smile like a goof and say goodbye, turning back to my friends who are waiting by the door. As I approach them I hear my stomach rumble.

"Hey guys, we're gonna have to grab some food, cause I'm starved and I'm sure everyone else is as well," I see a small glimpse of something behind Benji and Andreas. It's just a glimpse of a shadow, but I'm sure I've seen that shape before. Before I can think about it, Benji claps me on the back and laughs.

"Looks like you're a natural, Hailey," He says happily.

"Yeah, you were awesome!" I hear a feminine voice from my right and I turn to see Claire.

"Claire! When did you get here!" I say as I give her a hug, trying not to squish Ryu in the process. Claire laughs and looks me up and down.

"About the same time you started to battle with your Dratini," She laughs at my appearance, "When did you become a pokémon totem pole?" I laugh and before I can reply my stomach, as well as my pokémon's, rumble loudly.

"How 'bout we get my friends healed up and some food before I catch you up on what's been happening?" Andreas smiles, and Benji laughs while Claire and I giggle. We exit the Gym and head towards the Pokémon Center, towards comfort and food. On the way I think about that shadow I saw. I can't help but feel that I've seen that shape before, I just can't remember where.


	14. Confusing Dreams

Claire hangs out with us for the rest of the night, telling us about her mission in Snowpoint. She had to rescue a few fire-type pokémon from the harsh, cold environment. They had apparently gotten lost in Mt. Coronet and ended up straying into the frozen forest surrounding the city, causing a small wildfire. So she and a few other Rangers had to put out the flames before tracking down the pokémon that started it and return them to their rightful habitats. I told Claire all about my adventures up till now and even showed her my manipulation of aura. I made another little Benji and got his mouth to move so I could tease him.

"So you got your first Gym Badge already," Claire says, admiring the small, metallic pin, "I can't believe you did it so fast. You were just a newb when we met little over a week ago! Now you've got four pokémon, two of which are definitely unique." She smiles and I give her another hug.

"It's just good to see you! It feels more like a month than eight days since I started this journey," I say.

"I know what you mean," Benji jumps in, "It feels like time is going by much faster than it actually is." Andreas makes a humming noise and I look to see a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hey, Andreas, what's wrong?" He looks up quickly, like I just disturbed some deep thought.

"Nothing, just thinking about something," He waves his hand dismissively. I frown.

"Well don't worry so much! You're going to get wrinkles!" I smile and force one out of him as well.

"Show me the aura again!" Claire cuts in, "It's so cool!" I laugh and make another few shapes out of the blue energy. Claire watches like she's watching a magic show and, likewise, Benji sits enraptured.

We sit in the Pokémon Center for the rest of the day, not wanting to leave tonight. After dinner Claire and I go up to our shared room while the boys go to their own room. We decided to split up since most rooms could hardly hold the boys and me, let alone another person. Being the gentleman he is, Andreas took the room with Benji, leaving me with Claire. I can already see her starting whatever gossip she's picked up around Sinnoh.

"So you're scared of caves?" Claire asks, going in a completely different direction.

"Not just caves," I reply, "Any dark, closed in spaces. Closets, lockers, small rooms. Places like that." She looks thoughtful.

"So if I shoved you into a closet and left the light on, you'd be fine?" She asks, making me laugh a little.

"Well, I'd certainly be better than if you shut the light off, but not exactly fine," I say, "It's just… whenever I get stuck somewhere like that, I feel as if there's not enough oxygen. That I'm running out and I have to get out or I'll suffocate and die. Or sometimes it feels as if the walls are closing in, getting smaller and smaller until they'll eventually squish me. It's irrational, I know, but I just can't help it." Claire looks concerned.

"Well, you're going to have to figure out some way to get over this fear," She says, sounding a lot like a sandy-haired boy I know, "There's a ton of caves in Sinnoh, especially since Mt. Coronet splits it's down the middle."

"Yeah, Benji said something similar, which freaked me out, by the way!" I say with a giggle, "Since when does he do that? Most of the time he's so carefree and tricky, but then he has these moments of complete seriousness that give me a headspin." Claire laughs.

"I know! It mostly happens when we're on missions or in a crisis. It's strange to think our little Benji could be serious, but he does do that sometimes." She says, "He's kinda odd like that, but it works." I ponder his mood swings. Its freaky, but somehow, Benji just makes it feel natural.

"So, since you've been traveling, have you ever really given any thought to home?" Claire asks, making a stab of homesickness run through my heart. Claire notices and a guilty look comes over her face.

"Of course I've thought of home. I've thought about it every day. How to get back, _if_ I can ever get back. I think about my little brother and how he's probably already started school and how I can't be there for him if he's teased. I think about my parents who've always been there for me, even if they couldn't be at my side. I think about all the people who'd miss me and what they're doing right now. Are they worried about me? Are they freaking out? Have they even noticed my absence? Stuff like that." I pour out all my worries to her. Claire makes a good listener. She may be a little excitable, but she knows when to just shut up.

"Hailey, I'm so sorry," She says, looking truly guilty, "I wish we could find a way home for you." I give her a small, sad smile.

"It's not your fault Claire," I say reassuringly, "You're not the one who dragged me here. Besides, that's mostly the reason I became a trainer instead of a Ranger. I wanted time to hunt down any myths about Dialga and Palkia. Maybe if I can find something, I can get them to take me home. But for now I'm just traveling through the region to find the myths. I'm just trying to see the world I've become a part of for itself. Maybe if I travel long enough and far enough, I'll find a way to get home. I know it's a flimsy theory, but it's what I'm hanging on to right now." Claire looks ready to cry and I'm sure I do too. I give her a hug and try to make her feel better. _Funny, she wanted to know if I was all right and I end up comforting her._ I voice my thoughts and Claire laughs.

"Yeah I get that a lot." She says through her laughter, "I usually end up the one crying and blubbering. Come on, let's get some sleep. We don't want the boys to leave without us." I smile and head to bed, everyone but Claire piling on top of me. I flick the lamp off and fall into a restless sleep.

* * *

In my dream, I float through the twisted world from before. The one that contained the shadow creature. The landscape is totally alien. The houses float upside-down, sideways and all around. Some melt into mirror images of each other. It's not just the houses that do that, but the trees, the roads and the whole land itself. Streets twist into loops, trees grow crystalline orbs for fruit and the whole world just looks twisted. Mixed into the freaky suburban areas are small pockets of land that contain nothing but strange trees and blue boulders that appear and disappear depending on how far you are from them. I keep on floating, not really choosing a path, just meandering. I feel a strong presence behind me and look to see the large shadowy creature from before. It's still hidden in the dark, its red eyes glowing.

_So, your first true victory. I'm glad that you are getting stronger. You are going to need it when the time comes for you to save the world, _it says in a deep, masculine voice. Let's just say it's a he for now.

"Yeah, well I've got a thing or two to tell ya, Mr. Shadow!" I vent angrily, "You dragged me from my home world, deposited me on this planet to save it without even asking! What the hell is wrong with you?! You couldn't find a native to do it?! I had a life ya know! My family is probably worried sick! And you have the nerve to talk to me in my dreams about saving the world and getting stronger?!" My voice rises and octave or two in my rant, but I'm far from finished.

"Not only that, you don't even have the decency to warn me about a few things! Like the fact that this world is full of warring gods, mystical creatures and danger at just about every corner I've turned! I'm surprised I haven't been struck by lightning! I'm surprised I'm even alive! Explain yourself!" I cross my arms like a petulant child. The shadow creature seems at a loss for words. I tap my ghostly foot on the hard ground next to one of the vanishing boulders.

_Well, you're not lacking in courage, I'll give you that._ He says with a deep, rumbling chuckle, _I wasn't the one to bring you here, Palkia was. I just merely sent him in the right direction. Our worlds are in danger. Dialga and Palkia are out of balance and my world is becoming loose. We need a hero to stop the criminals that are messing with the very world order. No one from our dimension is brave enough and your spark was the first one that shone bright enough to handle the request we had to offer. _I cut him of there.

"Yeah, well you didn't offer! You had your pal abduct me!" The shadow's eyes dim slightly, as if in regret.

_Yes, I know. But he is unwell. I was going to offer, but Palkia didn't think things through. Both Dialga and Palkia are not themselves lately. They have begun to revert back to their primal urges. I feel the influence working on myself as well. When it comes time for this world's Reckoning, I may not be the same creature then as I am now. _

"Great. And I thought you were scary now," I mumble, mostly to myself. The shadow chuckles once again and the scenery around me changes, making my head spin like one of Benji's serious attitudes.

I am no longer in the twisted world, but back in the cave where I saw the pink and blue creature with the two tails. In fact, she sits right in front of me. She looks at me with those ageless gold eyes again.

_Don't listen to Giratina. He's a worrywart! You beat your first Gym in record time! I'm so proud! _She says, sounding much different than I last saw her.

"What's with the mood swing?" I ask blatantly, "Last time you were as serious as a heart-attack, now you're bubbly." She smiles.

_Oh don't mind that. I am the Pokémon of Emotion after all! I just wanted to make a good first impression. Though I did mean everything I said. _She giggles.

"So… What did you mean by the 'Kings of Time and Space' fighting for what was not theirs?" it's been bugging me ever since that night.

_Oh, that's simple! Dialga and Palkia are-_ she gets cut off as a creature appears next to her. It looks very similar to her. It's got the same small, blue body with two tails and red crystals on each. But it's head is different. It has a yellow face (its eyes shut by the way) and a yellow hat-like adornment, unlike the pink creature's dreadlock-looking adornments.

_Mesprit! She has to learn this herself! We can't tell her everything, otherwise she'd get nowhere!_ It yells in a male voice.

_Awww, come on Uxie! Can't we at least tell her this? It won't affect anything!_ "Mesprit" whines and "Uxie" looks as exasperated as he can with his closed eyes.  
_No sister! We are not allowed to intervene unless it's absolutely necessary for the survival of the world!_ Mesprit pouts and Uxie looks in my direction, I think… His head turns my way, let's say that.

_You have done well so far, Hailey. Now you should probably get some sleep. _I feel my conscious unwillingly slip into a deeper sleep. I leave the two siblings arguing and my vision fades into a different dream. This one is filled with numbers and useless trivia that I've picked up over the years. I float along in this dream till morning comes. I wake up feeling more tired than awake, but I trudge through my morning routine anyway, all the while thinking about the three strange creatures from my dreams.


	15. Back to Jubilife

I collapse on the grass with a gasp of air and a twitch of my leg muscles. Kani flops next to me and Sparky falls off my head.

"Have I ever mentioned that I hate caves?" I ask no one in particular.

"_Yes, several times,_" Sparky retorts, "_You can really book-it when you wanna! I think you could have outrun a Rapidash_!"

"_I think we lost everyone else_," Prymas says uncertainly. I look up to see that no one is anywhere near.

"Huh, I guess we'll have to wait for them," I say and get up. Sparky wanders off to a nearby berry bush full of Pecha Berries (thank you Claire for giving me a cheat sheet). I sit with my back to the mountain wall and pull the sketchpad and art supplies out of my bag. Prymas snuggles next to me and falls asleep. Kani snuggles next to me as well as we waste time waiting for Andreas, Benji and Claire. I escape into my drawing, sketching out the landscape in front of me and my muscles finally relax after running through the Oreburgh Gate.

* * *

About half-an-hour passes before a shadow falls across my page. I look up to see Andreas hanging over me.

"What took you so long?" I ask teasingly and look around, "Where are Benji and Claire?" He smiles as he examines my notebook.

"They were called for another mission just after you sprinted in front of us," he explains, "I was enjoying the natural scenery… and it looks like you were as well. That is a very nice drawing."

"Thank you, I couldn't exactly get the grass right, but it's just a sketch," I reply, "So, you ready Freddy? I want to get to Eterna as soon as possible!"

"Hold your Ponyta!" he laughs, "We still have to go back through Jubilife and go to Floaroma Town _and_ Eterna Forest."

"Uuuugh! Why?!" I whine, "Fine. I guess we'll just have to go the long way." I pout and head towards the Pecha bush.  
"Sparky, you still in there?" I question the empty space. Sparky's head pops out and his face is covered in pink berry juice. He looks a little nauseous.

"_I think I may have had too many berries_," he groans and I laugh.

"Well we'll just have to remember that for later, now won't we?" I chuckle at him, "We're heading out, let's go Pinky." I each out and grab him, holding him while Prymas crawls up my arm. Andreas and I head towards Jubilife City once again, with Kani trailing at my heels. A comfortable silence falls between us, neither of us really wanting to break the beauty of the nature around us.

We stop at the swimming hole for lunch, letting everyone out for some play-time. Prymas plays around with Airo and Stella plays with Ryu and Leo. Kani lies next to Melanite under a shady tree while I hang out in the shallows with Zuza. Andreas sets up a fire and starts making lunch.

"Hey Stella, would you like to get some training in?" I ask her as she flies by with Ryu slithering along, "I didn't get to use you in our Gym battle."

"_Sure_!" she trills happily, "_I'm getting bored anyway._" Ryu looks a little sad so I pet her to try and cheer her up.

"Good! We can get both you and Prymas stronger!" I smile, "Prymas! We're going to do a little training!" He runs over with a smile on his face and I get ready.

"Okay, since both of you are speedy Pokémon, let's work on your attacks," I muse, "Stella, when I signal, I want you to use Quick Attack to try and lift Prymas into the air. Prymas, I want you to try and stop her with one of your attacks okay?" They both nod and I wave my hand. Stella immediately launches herself at Prymas in a blur and Prymas shoots an Ember at Stella. Stella spins to the right, dodging the flame, and slams her body into Prymas' stomach, forcing him into the air. Prymas shouts in surprise.

"Prymas, don't freak out!" I yell, "Get your body in control, then attack Stella while she's recovering." He seems to understand as he gets himself to face Stella and blast another Ember at her. Stella isn't able to dodge quickly enough and takes it right in the face. I wince in sympathy.

"Stella, now you Tackle him into the ground, like with that Kricketot!" I yell and she speedily shakes off the Ember to fly above Prymas and slam into him to send him flying to the ground.

"Prymas, try to land on your feet, knees bent!" He successfully lands and Stella lands next to him. "Yay! You did it!" I shout and hug them, "Now we know how to disorient our opponent _and_ how to handle ourselves in the air!" Prymas smiles with a sigh and Stella tweets a couple notes.

"_So that's what you were tyring to do?_" Prymas asks.

"Yep. I was wondering how getting a walking Pokémon into the air would affect them. And by the way you were flailing about, I'd say it's a good strategy. But I'm pretty sure I'm not the first one to think of it, so I needed a way to counter it."

"So what was the knee bending for?" Andreas asks from by the fire.

"If you land with your knees bent, they absorb most of the shock and you're less likely to get hurt," I explain, I dig out a couple of the Sitrus berries I found a few days ago and give them to Prymas and Stella.

"Here you go! These should make you feel better." Stella eats hers with delight and Prymas lays next to Kani to munch on his.

"Well lunch is ready," Andreas announces and we all dig in. After we clean up we're on the road again, with everyone but Prymas and Sparky back in their pokéballs.

We arrive in Jubilife just as the sun is setting, the windows of the city once again reflecting the golden light.

"You know, every night these windows turn into golden mirrors and I don't think anyone takes the time to stop and admire them," I tell Andreas. He hums in response. I look to see his expression is one of deep thought, he probably didn't even hear what I said.

"Andreas!" I shout, startling him out of his pondering.

"What?" he asks innocently and I sigh in return.

"Did you hear what I said?" he blushes and shakes his head, "What is it that has all your attention?"

"I'm thinking about all the strange things that have happened since I've met you," he responds, "Sparky's appearance, the fact that you're a natural when there's nothing like this where you come from, the way each and every one of your Pokémon are so… so… articulate, I guess. Strange things happen around you and I have no idea why." My thoughts whirl with different emotions and ideas. _Should I tell him about my dreams?_ I open my mouth to say something about them, but the words stick in my throat and a feeling of dread washes over me. Andreas doesn't seem to notice as we keep on walking.

"Well, I think we should call it a night," he says finally, "Should we stay at my uncle's place?" I smile and nod, looking forward to Carson's cooking. We arrive at his apartment not an hour later and he lets us in with a wide smile.

"So you've already beaten Roark?" he asks with a proud smile and I nod, "You certainly didn't waste any time." I laugh along with him and settle on the couch. Andreas proceeds to tell him about the last few days.

The next thing I know, Carson is shaking my shoulder and saying something about sleep and the guest room. I slip off the couch and head to the room, collapsing on the bed without even changing and falling asleep.

* * *

The next day dawns as bright as I am grumpy. My first thought is coffee, and lots of it. I quickly get dressed and I lead my group of pokémon out into the kitchen where Carson is cooking breakfast and has already set out food for my friends. I immediately grab a mug of coffee and sweeten it with sugar before sitting on the counter.

"How the hell do you do it?" I ask tiredly, sipping my coffee. Carson laughs.

"Do what?" He asks innocently. I make a noise caught between a growl and a sigh.

"Get up every morning with a smile and make breakfast before anyone else even thinks about getting up," I reply. He chuckles once more before handing me a plate laden with eggs and bacon. I dig in and not before long, Andreas and his pokémon join us. A sudden thought enters my head.

"Hey, guys, how come I've never seen my own spark before?" I ask. Carson has that expression that most people have when a young child cannot understand an easy topic.

"Because no one can see their own spark," Carson responds, "It's just something that never happens. I could tell you what it is if you want."

"Yeah, I'm curious," I respond with a smile. Carson nods and his eyes flash a bright blue for a few seconds before fading back to their normal gold flecked blue. His expression turns a little troubled and he pokes Andreas and whispers something to him. Andreas closes his eyes for a couple seconds before looking at me with his eyebrows scrunched together.

"What?!" I yell, feeling weird about their looks, "Seriously guys, tell me!"

"Well, you know that most sparks are a constant light? Like a lightbulb?" Carson asks and I nod, "Well… yours isn't…" he trails off and I get annoyed.

"Then what's it like?" I ask in annoyance.

Andreas answers, "It's more like a flame, a purple and gold flame to be exact." The way he says this leaves the impression that it's important.

"What's so special about purple and gold?" I ask with an eyebrow raised. The only thing going through my head is an image of a Vikings jersey.

"Just the fact that a spark like that hasn't been seen in hundreds of years," Carson answers. "And no one's is like a flame. Though that just might be because you're from another dimension…"

"So what you're telling me, is that I'm even more of a freak?" I pout.

"Not a freak! More like unique," Andreas reassures. I sigh and hop off the counter. I grab my bag and Prymas hops up to my shoulder, Sparky quickly following suit and Kani trailing behind me.

"Yeah, sure," I reply sadly, "I want to get going, will you be ready soon?" Andreas nods slowly. "I'll meet you outside, I need some air." I exit the apartment building and take a short walk around the city streets.

* * *

As I turn around a building, I see Rowan and Lucas conversing with a couple of weirdos with blue hair and grey outfits. I walk up with a smile to say hi but my words die in my throat as I pick up on what the first weirdo is saying.

"Now, now, now! Professor Rowan, you must comply." He says peevishly, "Hand over all your research data, free of course, and we won't have to use force. Your assistant might just have a painful time." My anger grows at the threats of the blue-haired weirdo. Rowan spots me as I approach the group.

"Who are you to demand his property?!" I yell angrily. They just scoff and Rowan grabs my attention.

"How is your journey so far Hailey?" he asks politely, like no one just threatened him.

"It's good, I've already got my first Badge!" I smile and show him the Badge on my jacket.

"Hadn't I given you your first pokémon only recently?" he chuckles deeply, "Perhaps being a Trainer is second nature to you."

"Oh Professor! Must you be so difficult?" Weirdo number one says, "We are speaking to you on business, because this is work for us. We demand you comply with our demands!" I almost giggle at his bravado but I hold it in. Rowan's face becomes as intimidating as when I first met him and I take a step towards Lucas.

"Quiet you lot! Why must you be a nuisance?" He yells. He then proceeds to scold the two men like a school teacher and insult their taste in fashion. He even made a point to tell Lucas and me not to be like them. _Not a problem Rowan, not at all_, I think with a smile.

"You had to make this personal!" Weirdo number two yells, "You've forced our hands! We'll make you regret insulting Team Galactic! Go Stunky!" He sends out a small purple, skunk-like pokémon and his friend sends out a blue, skinny cat with a crescent shaped head and spiral tail with a white fluff at the end.

"Will you two show these hooligans some civility please?" Rowan asks in an annoyed way and I smile at Lucas.

"Let's go!" I tell Lucas and he sends out his Prinplup. "Stella, you're up!" I throw her pokéball into the air and she pops out, ready for action.

"Stella, Quick Attack the Stunky!" I order and Lucas orders Prinplup to use Bubblebeam on the Glameow. Stella launches into action, using our previous strategy to slam the Stunky into the air. Prinplup's attack lands a direct hit, but the Glameow rakes her claws across his belly in response. I leave the Glameow to Lucas.

"Stella, now Tackle him down!" She quickly follows my orders and sends the skunk hurtling back into the pavement. The skunk gets back up with a wobble of his legs. His Trainer orders him to use Fury Swipes but I order Stella to fly out of range. Once more I order her to Tackle and she lands a heavy blow, knocking out the Stunky the same time Prinplup takes out the Glameow with a well-placed Metal Claw. The two weirdos return their pokémon and run off to the north with a few shouted words of revenge and something about retreating.

"Haha! Yeah!" I high-five Lucas and grin at Rowan.

"It looks like you've already become quite the trainer," he smiles warmly and I thank him.

"What were they trying to take from you?" I ask. He looks off in a thoughtful way.

"They were trying to take my research on the evolution of pokémon. That bunch of hooligans believe the energy of an evolving pokémon can be used for something." He scoffs and turns back to me.

"Good job on your battling skills. I hope you continue challenging the Gyms. Come, Lucas, we must get back to the Lab. Take care Hailey." He says and he and Lucas walk back to Sandgem Town. I stand there, trying not to blush from the Professor's compliments. Stella lands on top of my head with a happy tweet and I pet her head.

"Good job Stella, you did great."

"_Anything for you_!" she says happily and I head back to Carson's apartment. Andreas emerges from the building just as I reach for the door. I jump and Andreas looks at me warily.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his eyes betraying concern.

"Yeah, I took out some of my anger on some weirdos threatening Professor Rowan," I reply with a wave of my hand.

"What?" he asks, obviously perplexed at my offhand statement.

"Come on, I'll tell you while we walk," I say. We set off to the north, towards Floaroma Town and after that, my second Gym Badge! I tell him all about what happened and a silence falls over the rest of our trip north.


	16. Flowers, Flowers Everywhere

"So, do we really have to go through this?" I say as I look at the cave entrance before me.

"Unless you know how to scale the side of it," Andreas replies with a smile not only on his face, but in the way he speaks as well. I scowl and shake my head.

"I'm starting to hate my life," I grumble but Andreas laughs it off.

"Come on, we will be in and out before you know it," He hooks his arm through mine, giving me no chance to run and pulls me into the cave. It's a much smaller cave than the Oreburgh Gate, the ceiling just a couple feet over our heads.

"You don't have to hold on to me," I state with annoyance.

"After what happened last time, I beg to differ," Andreas chuckles and I huff. He drags me through the cave, ignoring all the Zubats flitting about and the yellow ducks waddling near the small lakes to the back of the cave.

"Besides, it's not long a cave," he says, "at least this one won't co-"

"Don't. Even. Say. It." I say angrily, Andreas just chuckling further. The Zubat flitting back and forth are becoming a real nuisance, some diving close enough to whip up my hair with their wings. They seem to be the only pokémon willing to get close to us. All the others are going along, minding their own business.

"Hailey, you're twitching," Andreas says.

"Hm, I wonder _why_," I snap back, pulling my arm out of his, "Could it possibly be my claustrophobia? The fact that the ceiling is only a couple feet over our heads? Or maybe the fact that the last cave we went through collapsed!" Andreas pouts… not something a guy should do.

"Don't be snippy," He teases. _What is he doing? He knows I hate caves… so why is he being such an idiot?_

"What are you playing at Andreas?" I ask, scanning his face for clues.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," He says innocently, "And I'm hurt that you'd insinuate that I'm up to something!" He pouts at me again… seriously, his face is not made for pouting.

"Cut the crap," I say, my patience abnormally short lived, "You're not like this normally. You're much more composed. What are you doing?" He pales a little at my angry tone and immediately stops trying to be silly.

"I'm just trying to help," he explains, "I know you hate caves, so I was trying to lighten the mood."

"_That's not going to help_," Kani says from out feet, "_With Hailey, it's just best to get through it as fast as possible_." Andreas looks down at her and nods.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he concedes, "Come on, let's get out of here. The exit isn't far ahead." He smiles at me and I sigh.

"I'm sorry Andreas, but I won't relax until we get back outside," I apologize. He smiles wider and slides his arm through mine again.

"No need to worry, you've got all of us with you," He says. Sparky and Prymas squeeze my shoulders and Kani leans on my legs. I smile slightly, loving that my friends are here for me.

"Yeah, yeah," I say, "Come on ya sentimental lugs, we got a Gym badge to win." Andreas laughs lightly and we continue through the cave, though I keep twitching until we find the exit.

* * *

Once that wonderful portal of daylight makes an appearance, I quickly dart through, finally able to relax. Andreas exits behind me, calmly gliding through the doorway.

"I wish I could be as calm as you," I comment, seeing his easy grin.

"Well then we'll have to work on this fear of yours until it's gone," He teases.

"Oh joy," I sarcastically remark. Andreas laughs along with my Pokémon and Kani.

"_Oh come on, it's not that bad!_" Sparky says, hanging over my head to stick his face in mine, "_There's a lot of cool stuff in caves. Like a bunch of different Pokémon, cool rocks, shiny stuff, even treasure!_" I laugh at him, he's too cute sometimes. I look up and notice the sun almost to the horizon.

"Did we really spend that long in the cave?" I ask, "Seems like we entered it a half hour ago…"

"Caves have that effect sometimes…" Andreas mumbles, not really much of an answer.

"What? It can't be that drastic," I ponder, "We left early this morning, it can't already be sundown." Andreas has a look of deep concentration on his face. I pull my pokégear out of my bag to check the time. The clock reads 7:38! I hold it up for Andreas to see.

"This doesn't seem right," I tell him, "It was barely one o'clock when we got to the cave. Six and a half hours couldn't have passed that quickly! Something isn't right." Andreas' face becomes a mask of thought, his eyebrows pulled together in concentration. Sparky drops from my head onto my shoulder.

"_I don't like where this is going_," He says. I rub his head.

"Me neither buddy," I whisper, "Andreas, what are you thinking?" He turns back to me and sighs.

"You said, when you came here, Palkia and Dialga looked as if they were fighting, yes? Well, maybe this is a side-effect." He looks concerned, more so than me, "Dialga is the master of Time, and since he's busy fighting Palkia… maybe his control is slipping. Remember how you took five hours to get out of Oreburgh Gate?"

"Don't remind me," I mumble.

"Well, even with the cave in, it shouldn't have taken you that long. Most people only take an hour, hour and a half to get through it. Even if they take a different path, it's never been that long of a tunnel."

"So you're saying Dialga is losing control and Time is starting to warp?" I cross my arms, "That's freaky."

"I wonder what is causing it though," He thinks out loud, "Dialga and Palkia usually govern their element and get on with their lives. What is happening to make them lose control?" I feel a stab of guilt, knowing full well I have this answer from my dreams with Mesprit and Giratina... or at least half the answer. We continue to walk north with the sun to our left, covering the trees and landscape with a yellow glow.

"You know, I've never really seen many sunsets back in my world," I say out of the blue, "Always too busy doing something else. Now, I've seen one practically every night, yet I'm nowhere near tired of seeing them." I see Andreas smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah, there's nothing more relaxing or beautiful than a sunset when you're out traveling," He responds, "You know, you've never really told me that much about your family. What are they like?" I smile wistfully, a jab of homesickness pierces my heart before it fades.

"Well, I guess you can say I took after my mother most," I start, "She's passionate and loves to paint, mostly abstract and surreal type of stuff, but she's pretty good at everything. She's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, even if everyone else disagrees. Her hair, though," I laugh, "It's never one color for more than a week. She's dyed it every hue of the rainbow, yet there's always a different color the next week. She's the one who taught me about Karma and told me all sorts of old stories about mythical creatures. My dad may be the total opposite, but he's never once fought with my mom. While she's the flighty artist, he's the ground we all stand on. There's something about him that just makes you feel safe. But my brothers… ugh. Miiko and Jason are twins, and my constant tormentors. They are always breaking something, or getting into trouble, or getting dirty. They can never sit still, never relax. They're like two little twisters running around our house. But my youngest brother Kayden, he's my favorite. He's really shy and doesn't talk much, but he doesn't need to. His face says everything he would ever want to. He should have already started Kindergarten."

I stop walking when I feel my tears drop off my cheeks. Andreas turns around to see what I stopped for and Kani whines at my feet. Next thing I know, Andreas' arms surround me and hold me tight. I can feel both Prymas and Sparky dislodged from their perches. Andreas gives off a comforting heat, like a thick blanket, his soft sweatshirt adding to the warmth.

"I'm sorry Hailey," He says quietly, "I'm sorry that you've been taken from your family. Sorry that you've been dealt this life." My brain is having a hard time catching up with what's happening. _He's hugging me. Andreas is… hugging… me._

Believe it or not, I have never once been asked out on a date, never once even flirted with. So you can see why I'm not exactly taking this gracefully. I just stand there in his hug while my brain short-circuits.

Eventually I work up the nerve to wrap my arms around his middle, relaxing my startled muscles in his embrace and dropping my head onto his shoulder. I've never noticed before, but Andreas is really muscular under his sweatshirt. Kani barks a laugh, startling Andreas and I, making us both jump apart.

"_I think you almost broke her_!" She laughs and teases, "_This is the first time a boy has ever acted intimate with her_!" I glare daggers at my dog while Andreas turns a brilliant shade of red.

"I-I'm sorry if I-I made you uncomfortable," Andreas stutters.

"It wasn't you who made me uncomfortable," I can feel my face burning red to match Andreas. Kani barks another quick laugh and I shoot her a glare strong enough to start a tree on fire. "Come on, we might as well set up camp for the night." Andreas nods quickly and starts setting up a fire pit. I gather wood with Sparky and Prymas, Kani knowing well enough to stay behind with Andreas to escape my anger. We gather the firewood quickly and return to find Andreas and all his Pokémon lounging around. I set up the fire as quick as I can and Andreas makes dinner. As it's simmering, I take the time to mess around with my Pokégear.

"I just don't get it," I think out loud, "How can Time just be messed up in specific places? Why isn't it widespread?"

"Probably because Dialga still has most of it under control," Andreas answers, "Since he's still got most of it under control, then that should mean that only few spots are starting to lose Time. I think because Palkia is probably losing control at the same time, their slips are happening in the same spots. When you were stuck in the Oreburgh Gate, did you ever feel like you were going in circles?"

"To be honest, that's how every cave feels like to me," I confess, "Though the walls did all look really similar." Andreas stirs the pot while thinking about my answer.

"I wonder if what this all has to do with each other…" He says quietly before drifting off into his own mind. I don't know what to say, anytime I try to tell anyone about my dreams, my throat constricts my words. I feel horrible that I can't divulge this secret, but something stops me every time!

After dinner, Andreas lounges on the opposite side of the campfire, leaning on Leo like a living pillow. I never thought I'd live to see the day a lion purrs… yet Leo is happily rumbling away, Andreas lost in his own thoughts.

I don't know much about Andreas. I know he's a little better with mornings than I am. I know he's formal, or at least formal-er, when he speaks. I know he has a lot of knowledge about the legends and deities that run this place. I even know that he is one of the most selfless people I know. Yet I don't exactly know how or why I've come to trust someone so easily. Benji and the Rangers saved my life, that is a bit of a given. Yet Andreas… He's admitted to spying on me! But I can't imagine my time here without him. I look over the fire to find he's still lost in his thoughts, his eyes closed in concentration and the smallest of frowns tugs at the corners of his lips.

Seemingly of their own accord, my hands bring out my sketch pad and pencils. This moment is one I feel I need to preserve. If the scratching of my pencil on the paper irritates Andreas, he shows no sign of it, still just as calm as ever.  
Somehow Andreas' face seems to hold confidence, intelligence, strength and caring all at once without the four traits ever clashing. Kani noses her way under my elbow to see my drawing.

"_You need more shadow behind him_," She says. I just smile and sketch in a little more shadow. Kani continues to observe while I draw. He hasn't even twitched so far, which is weird since every guy I know can never sit still. _What can he be thinking about so deeply? What could possibly be running through his brain?_

"Hey Kani," I whisper, "Where's everyone else?" She growls out a chuckle.

"_Sleeping_," She answers. I glance over to the left and spot my Pokémon all piled together, sleeping on and under one another without a care in the world.

"I like this place, Kani" I say quietly, "It's pretty amazing how the people have come to live their lives. Some things are a little strange, like there are next to no cars, most routes are nothing more than worn footpaths, others are just dirt roads. And the obvious things like the pokémon, the shrinking and expanding metal spheres that can capture living beings, the healing machines at the Pokémon Centers… all sorts of crazy things go on around here. But I guess I've come to enjoy my time here. Though I miss Mom and Dad. I even miss the boys." Kani places her head on my lap.

"_I do too Hailey, but we've just got to play the hand we've been dealt,_" She responds, "_We'll get back someday. You'll see. We'll find that pink creature and get it to take us back, whether it wants to or not._" I scratch behind her ear and she sighs in happiness. Dogs truly are a person's best friend, whether you can actually talk to them or not.

"You know, I heard a theory once that there are an infinite amount of universes. Each one slightly different from the next. And the farther you get from your own, the more different they are. You think that this one is very far from our own?"

"_I don't know, but I would guess it isn't too far. There are many similarities along with the differences._"

"Yeah. I hope you're right." I hear a snore and look up to see that Andreas has fallen asleep on Leo while Kani and I were talking. I chuckle quietly and curl up with Kani for the night. Before I fall asleep, I wonder if I'll ever find Palkia to take me home. I wonder if maybe this dimension would be too far away for a return trip. Amidst my worried mind, the black blanket of sleep creeps in and takes over, silencing any thoughts for the night.

* * *

I awake to find Andreas' face inches from mine with a smile stretched across it. I immediately jerk up with a yelp, smashing my face into his.

"Ow…" Andreas moans and I hold my nose.

"What the hell Andreas!" I yell through my hands, "What were you doing?!" He grins cheekily and stands up.

"There is something I need to show you and it can't wait!" He grabs my wrist and hauls me up to drag me down the wide dirt path.

"Andreas! Can't it wait until I get my nose to stop bleeding?" I see the blood from my nose run down my neck to the neckline of my shirt. _Well… at least it's black. That counts for something, right?_ Andreas just grins wider and shakes his head.

"It is something you have to see right now," He drags me faster as I stumble behind him, the only thing keeping me from falling is his hand clamped around my wrist.

"Andreas! What the hell could possibly be so important that you needed to wake me before the sun has even risen?" I ask, but Andreas refuses to say anything, dragging me along like a rag doll.  
Finally he stops at the crest of a large hill. I just sigh and gather up the hem of my shirt and try to wipe away the blood on my face.

"Now, just watch." He looks like a child on Christmas morning, all grins and barely contained excitement. I sigh again and look out into the greying darkness as it starts to get lighter and lighter.

What happens next cannot be explained in words alone. All I know is that I wish I had my paints and a fresh easel.

The sun dawns over the horizon. Its light first falls on a sparkling blue river and a large brick building with windmills whirling away in the slight breeze. They alone would be a joy to paint in their distant beauty. But the light continues to grow, as does my fascination. First it skips over a dirt road and large group of trees. The light continues to travel across a quaint town decorated with small, rustic houses and the red roof of a Pokémon Center shines near the center.  
But the last thing the light touches is the thing that steals my breath away.

Surrounding the picturesque town is a meadow full of blooming flowers. Daisies, orchids, lilies, sunflowers, poppies, lavender bushes, rose bushes, snapdragons, every kind of flower imaginable crowds the landscape. It looks like Heaven on Earth from this perspective.

As the sun rises ever higher in the sky, the flowers shine in the light, showing off their natural beauty to the world to see. The roses glow passionate red and innocent white, the poppies shine like rubies. The daisies and sunflowers glimmer gold and yellow, the lavender and lilies combining fuchsia and purple to make a violet so vibrant it rivals that of Tyrian purple silk.

The simple elegance of nature has completely captivated me. I can't find the energy to worry about my slowly bleeding nose, or my ruined shirt. I hardly acknowledge Prymas and Kani finding their way to us with Leo in tow. I hear a click to my left and turn to see Andreas with a camera in his hand, pointed at me. He sees the question in my eyes and answers quietly, like he doesn't want to shatter the soft morning beauty.

"You document your experiences with drawings, I save memories with pictures," He smiles and turns to take a picture of the landscape. I smile and sit on the ground, my arms finding their ways around my two friends.

"This… This is absolutely amazing…" The words barely make it out of my mouth before Leo thumps down next to the three of us.

"_Andreas always knows how to cheer someone up_," Leo says, training his yellow eyes on me, "_I hope you like it._" My smile grows bigger and I lean against the large lion.

"I do. I love it so much it hurts," I reply and Kani sighs. I know what we're both thinking of… home.

"_This field makes the meadow at home look sparse_," She says, "_It shines so perfectly._" Andreas sits back down next to us, stowing his camera for another day. He smiles cheekily, turning his golden gaze to me.

"So, how do you like it? Does it make up for yesterday?" He asks. In return, I simply wrap my arms around him and exhale. Along with my breath goes a knot that had been tying itself up in my chest without my knowing.

"Andreas… Thank you." I can literally feel the smile on his face get bigger as he lowers one arm around my shoulders.

"This more than makes up for yesterday."

"Good. I was hoping this would cheer you up."

"_Hailey?_" Prymas asks, looking up at me from my lap.

"Yeah?"

"_What happened to your face?_" He asks so innocently I can't help but burst into laughter. Once I hiccup to a stop, I answer him.

"Andreas thought it would be funny to hang over my face to wake me up." I give Andreas a pointed look, but he smiles and squeezes my shoulders before letting go to stand back up.

"_Is that why his forehead is all red?_" I laugh again and nod.

"Yeah. Word to the wise, never hang over a sleeping person." Prymas laughs with Leo and Kani, Andreas just smiling and turning back towards our camp.

"We should get back before everyone else starts to worry." Andreas says.

"Yeah I guess so. Andreas?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever let anyone see that photo… ever!" Andreas just chuckles and leads the way back to camp. No one else has woken up when we arrive, but that changes when Andreas starts making breakfast. First Stella, then Ryu, then Sparky and all of Andreas' pokémon rise when they smell the food cooking. I dig my spare shirt out of my bag and slip it on while no one is looking before grabbing a fork full of Andreas' eggs.

"You know, you might be a better cook than your uncle." I remark as we stow away our dishes. Andreas thanks me for the compliment and we head off in the direction of Floaroma Town.

* * *

On our way through the meadow circling the town, I pick at least three of every flower, pressing them between the pages of my sketchbook. I can see Andreas walk calmly and lazily behind me, absorbing everything through his relaxed gaze.

"Andreas come on! I want to see the town!" Andreas just laughs when I smile back at him, barely picking up his snail's pace.

"Don't worry, it will still be there when we get there." But I just race ahead, reveling in the sunlight and flowers.

Though eventually we do reach the quaint town. One dry street runs down the center of the village-town, flanked by grass and flowers on the sides. Three businesses line the street next to each other; the Pokémon Center, the Pokémart and a flower shop by the looks of the sign. Few people wander the street, but each one smiles as we pass, friendly yet distant. They almost seem wary of us.

"So should we stop by the Pokémart first?" I ask Andreas, "Or should we just go straight through to Eterna?"

"We should probably stop. I don't have many Potions left and with you handing out yours to every kid you meet, they aren't going to last long." I laugh at Andreas' accusation and check my bag. Three Potions and a handful of Pokéballs left. Everything else is either art supplies or traveling stuff.

"You know, when I first got here, I figured your money was about a hundred times more than ours. Like one dollar on my world equaled a hundred poké here. But the more I use it, the closer the values seem to be. Especially with how necessary all the trainer items are. Though I don't understand how kids are walking around with hundreds of poke when my monthly allowance at home was twenty bucks. But I guess with the whole pokémon battles and ridiculously high prices everywhere, it's like a peaceful inflation. Though I don't understand why everything is Poké-this and Poké-that. I mean seriously. There are hundreds of different currencies on my world and they all have unique names. Euros, pesos, dollars, franks, yen… etcetera. I kind of get it when pokémon are such a huge influence on your peoples' lives, but still. Why is everything poké? It's weird, and unoriginal. Do each of your 'regions' use the same type of poké, or do they have different monetary systems? How come you don't have any coins? It's strange how your notes come in almost the same values as my world's dollars. One, five, ten, twenty, fifty, hundred… but you have two hundred and three hundred notes. What about th-"

"Hailey, breathe!" Andreas interrupts, startling a fit of giggles out of me. "You really know how to ramble don't you?"

"Sorry, I'm just in a really good mood today." Andreas chuckles and we head towards the Pokémart. Yet out of nowhere a scream splits the air.

"Help! Help! They have my papa!"


	17. Hola Readers!

Me: Hey all! I've finally done it! After losing my internet for a week and having nothing else to do, updating this went so much faster than I anticipated.

Claire: You should probably spend more time on your stories and less time on Facebook.

Me: Well, I would… hehe, but ya see… um… Shut up.

Benji: Yes! We're back! Now when's the next time I get to come in? Is it when Hailey storms the Windworks? Do I get to save her yet again from a horrible fate?

Me: O_O" Yeah… no. You get to go save baby Spheals in Snowpoint.

Hailey: Better make it a few rampaging Abomasnow.

Me: ^U^ I like the way you think, Hailey!

Benji: D: What?! No!

Claire: *Giggle* I vote yes. Come on, Benji, let's go freeze our butts off!

Andreas: Ravinae owns nothing but her OC's, but she wished she owned Pokémon.

Me: Damn straight. I'd make another Pokémon snap and a Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald remake! Maybe even a Pokémon Crossing.

Hailey: I call the artwork!

Me: If any of y'all haven't seen the artwork of the characters, it's still up on my Deviantart account. Same username, just search for it. Sorry for the low quality, I am a poor artist with no money to buy a scanner or one of those fancy tablets that let you draw on the computer.

Claire: Enjoy!


	18. Hey Guys

Hey guys. I know i haven't updated this thing since nearly last year, but i'm just not getting any inspiration for this story. I know a lot of you are like "What the Hell! Why hasn't she updated this?!".

Truth is, Life is happening. I have a job and I have responsibilities now and I just don't have time to sit down, play through Platinum and write a story around it. I hope you understand, but I am going to put this story away for a while.

Maybe when I go on vacation in a few weeks I'll write a chapter, but it doesn't look good. I'll still be writing my other story Rin, the Fugitive, mostly because I still have ideas for that no matter how slowly they come.

This story was never really meant to have an ending anyway, mostly 'cause it's my first and I didn't plan for shit. I am not the strongest when it comes to writing middles and chapters that develop characters.

So until further notice, this story is on hiatus, maybe indefinitely. I'll still leave it up, but there won't be any updates for a while. I hope you understand and don't start throwing tomatoes at me.

*dodges wrench*

Okay who threw that?!

*Hailey whistles innocently*

Don't give me that Hailey! I swear I'll turn you into a boy!

No! Anything but that! Boys are nasty!

*Benji yells indignantly*

We are not!

What's that on your shorts?

Ummm... mud... maybe blood...

Point proven.

Anyway! Sorry for the whole hiatus and poor writing. I really don't want to stop writing this story, but I've just lost all inspiration for it. I'll see you all later.


End file.
